Rangers increasingly unlikely to lose Minsu Kim in January after international news

Rangers might not lose Minsu Kim to South Korea in January for the AFC Asian Cup, afterall.

The South Korea international recently made his debut for his national team and could potentially make the squad for the upcoming tournament.

The 20-year-old's performances in G51 have caught the Taegeuk Warriors' attention.

Kim has been a key player for Derek McInnes at Ibrox since signing from Girona for £8.5million.

The Scottish manager is finally turning things around at the Glaswegian outfit after a slow start to the season.

While the former Girona attacker could be a candidate for South Korea, the international football schedule could change.

Why AFC Asian Cup could be postponed

Saudi Arabia is set to host the latest edition of the Asian Cup, running from 7 January to 5 February 2027.

South Korea are one of the 24 nations that have qualified for the tournament.

As things stand, the host nation faces uncertainty over their ability to go ahead with the competition due to the retaliatory attacks on the country from Yemen.

As Al Jazeera reported on 15 October, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said that the Asian Cup could be rescheduled if needed.

The tournament could be moved back to 2028, but no official decision has been made yet.

Minsu Kim's season assessed at Rangers so far

Kim has lived up to expectations at Rangers so far, featuring in every game since his move.

The South Korean ace was immediately included in the starting line-up by McInnes against Aberdeen and has since been a regular fixture.

Having initially started in the number 10 role, the Scottish manager has moved the winger to the right in recent matches to fit Ryan Naderi and Kevin Kelsy up front.

Kim is unlucky not to have scored a league goal yet despite recording an xG of 1.88, with his xA at 0.58 after six appearances, as per Sofascore.

The attacker has created one big opportunity for the Gers and recorded 1.5 key passes per game.

What has stood out about the winger is his ability to take on defenders, completing 2.2 dribbles per game.

There's certainly more to come from Kim at the Glaswegian outfit, who are looking to win their first league title since the 2020-21 campaign.

And any chance of keeping him around for the entire season would be huge.