Kim Min-soo, born in 2006 of the second Lee Kang-in in the 'Korean' top prospect, has a chance to make a surprise debut...Girona 1st team call-up 'Larry is the 8th Korean Leaguer to be born?'

Oct 19, 2024

Korean prospect Kim Min-soo, born in 2006, has a chance to debut in Spain's La Liga. In the injured ward, Girona coach Mitchell Sanchez called Kim Min-soo the first team. If Kim Min-soo makes his debut, he will become the eighth Korean player in Spain's La Liga. Photo = Girona

Can Kim Min-soo, one of Korea's top prospects, become the eighth Korean La Liga player of all time.

Girona, where Kim Min-soo belongs, will play Real Sociedad in the 10th round of Spain's La Liga in 2024-2025 season at 1:30 a.m. on the 20th (Korea time). Girona ranks 11th in the league and Sociedad ranks 15th in the league.

He was ranked fourth in the league last season by making an unexpected splash in La Liga, but he is struggling at the beginning of the season. This is because there is a problem that the team is not organized as the team has changed significantly, but injuries are coming out one after another.

Brian Hill, who left Tottenham on loan and became the ace of Girona, was also injured, and Viktor Maguicow is still recovering from his injury. Key resources have also been injured in the midfield and defense, making it impossible to form 100% of the power.

In response, Girona coach Mitchell Sanchez will call promising players who are growing at the club to the first team to check their possibilities. One of the targets is Kim Min-soo, a promising Korean born in 2006.

Kim Min-soo moved to Spain immediately after graduating from Korea to elementary school. Kim Min-soo, who dreamed of growing up in Spain's lower league team, was recognized for his potential by joining the Girona under-19 team in 2022.

Kim Min-soo certainly showed extraordinary talent in the U-19 team. Thanks to this, he was frequently called up to Girona B team. In the 2023-2024 season, the possibility of making a debut in the first division has been greatly increased. Girona had Kim Min-soo be called to the first team to train together during the summer pre-season. Participating young prospects in pre-season training means that the club is receiving really good reviews internally.

Unfortunately, he did not make his first-team debut in the 2023-2024 season. Since La Liga has a non-European quota system, it is difficult for Kim Min-soo to join the first team immediately. La Liga is limiting non-European players to a maximum of three per team. In order for Kim Min-soo to officially become a first-team player, he must show excellent skills enough to be registered as a non-European quarter.

First of all, Kim Min-soo grew by moving back and forth between Team B and Team U-19. Kim Min-soo also accompanied him in pre-season training in the 2024-2025 season. Like last year, he played a little bit of preseason first-team games. After the 2024-2025 season began, Kim Min-soo was offered a three-year extension contract by Girona and even renewed his contract.

Girona said on its official channel in August that "Kim Min-soo has decided to accompany us for three more seasons, extending his contract through 2027."," he said, announcing the renewal of his contract. Since then, Kim Min-soo has completely established himself as the main striker of Team B and is showing amazing performance this season. He started to grow into the ace of Team B this season with four goals and one assist in eight games of Team B.

Coach Sanchez, who appreciated Kim Min-soo's potential, is expected to call Kim Min-soo to the first team and watch the training before deciding whether to make his debut. Coach Sanchez directly mentioned Kim Min-soo's name at a pre-press conference against Sociedad.

He said "We have two players with injuries that we didn't expect. Hill and Asher Asprilla. No player has recovered. Daily Blint trained normally but can't play tomorrow. I have to play seven games in 21 days, but I don't have many players. So Minsu, Raul Martinez, Selby Kluah, Lucas Garcia and Enric Garcia will be together for tomorrow's game."

Sanchez announced that some of the five players who called the first team this time could play against Sociedad. He said, `We have to play well one game at a time. Since doing well tomorrow is the most important thing, we need to organize the best lineup. Players from the youth team also have players who can play tomorrow."

Kim Min-soo can play as a left winger or striker. Currently, Girona's main striker Abel Ruiz has no scoring in five consecutive games. It is very unlikely that Kim Min-soo will appear as a surprise starter, but if Ruiz's performance is frustrating, the possibility of Kim Min-soo appearing cannot be ruled out. First of all, Christian Stuani, a veteran, is also waiting on the bench.

If Kim Min-soo makes his debut, he will become the eighth Korean player in La Liga history. The history of Korean La Liga players started with Lee Chun-soo and continued with Lee Kang-in, but the history was cut off when Lee Kang-in moved to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). In addition, no player has ever successfully lived in La Liga except Lee Kang-in.

Soccer fans are cheering for Kim Min-soo to succeed Lee Kang-in as a successful Korean player in La Liga.