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Center-back Kim Ji-soo stands tall in Premier League debut for Brentford

Published: 29 Dec. 2024, 14:27 Updated: 30 Dec. 2024, 14:18

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Brentford center-back Kim Ji-soo, right, runs during a Premier League match at American Express Stadium in England on Dec. 27. [NEWS1]

Brentford center-back Kim Ji-soo became the youngest Korean player to make a Premier League debut at the age of 20 after contributing to a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday.

Kim’s Premier League substitute appearance was also a historic milestone for Korean football, as he is the first Korean center-back to play in the English top flight, where only three Korean fullbacks have clocked up minutes.

Kim now has the second half of the 2024-25 season to prove his potential to become a regular pick on the back of his historic debut that came after spending months in the reserve team and on the bench.

What was Kim's path to introducing himself to a Premier League crowd and what kind of career has he had?

Shining from the early days

Kim, standing at 1.93 meters (6 feet, 4 inches), started his career at Seongnam FC in the 2022 K League 1 season at 17, becoming the first player to join the club on a semi-pro contract after the K League lowered the age limit from 18 to 17 in 2018.

Kim made 19 appearances for the club in the 2022 campaign, during which he signed a full pro contract and saw the team face relegation to the K League 2.

He didn’t see much success with the club in the 2023 season, however, making just two appearances. But he played as a key center-back in the U-20 World Cup that year and contributed to Korea finishing in fourth, landing on European teams’ radars.

Korea's Kim Ji-soo, center, dribbles the ball during a FIFA U-20 World Cup round of 16 match against Ecuador at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, Argentina on June 1, 2023. [YONHAP]

Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, now home to center-back Kim Min-jae, were reportedly interested in signing the Seongnam youngster before Brentford brought him over in July last year.

Warming up in the reserve team

Kim did not immediately make it into Brentford’s A team, but made 29 appearances for the B team throughout the entire 2023-24 season, according to the club, alongside Romeo Beckham, son of David Beckham.

Brentford center-back Kim Ji-soo [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Kim’s performance that season got him promoted to the A team ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, where he made his first team debut in a Carabao Cup match against Leyton Orient on Sept. 17, before his eventual Premier League debut on Friday.

Kim has joined the ranks of fellow Korean Premier Leaguers Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur and Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, but he is the only Korean defender in the league and one of only two Korean center-backs in Europe’s top five leagues along with Kim Min-jae.

Korean defenders in the Premier League

The Premier League has proved to be a tough stage for Korean defenders to see longtime success.

Out of three fullbacks — former Spurs defender Lee Young-pyo, former Wigan defender Cho Won-hee and former QPR defender Yun Seok-yeong, who all preceded Kim’s debut by nearly a decade — only Lee featured as a core player for his former team.

Arsenal's Theo Walcott, right, shoots past Tottenham Hotspur's Lee Young-Pyo during an English League Cup semifinal at the Emirates Stadium in London on Jan. 9, 2008. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Lee made 92 appearances for Spurs from 2005 to 2008, during which he lifted the league cup in 2008, which remains Tottenham’s last silverware. But Cho only played five league fixtures from 2008 to 2010, while Yun made 23 Premier League appearances in the 2014-15 season — QPR’s only season in the Premier League while he was on the books — and saw relegation to the Championship at the end of the campaign.

Adapting to the Premier League, where games are fast-paced, physical and challenge-heavy, has been difficult for Korean defenders to adjust to.

He still has a plenty of opportunities to prove himself through the end of the fixture-congested 2024-25 campaign, where Brentford are due to play a host of league matches without a winter break, unlike other teams in the top five European leagues.

Remaining 2024-25 season

Having made his debut in the Carabao Cup and Premier League, Kim also has a chance to make his FA Cup debut, with Brentford due to face Plymouth Argyle on Jan. 11.

Brentford return to league action afterward on the back of a run that put them in 11th place in the 20-team table as of Sunday.

Brentford’s league match against Tottenham on Feb. 1 sets the stage for a Korean derby between Kim and Son and also possibly new Spurs signee Yang Min-hyeok, who joined the team earlier this month after becoming the youngest Korean to sign for a Premier League club at 18 years and 103 days old in July.

Another possible Korean derby against Hwang Hee-chan’s Wolverhampton Wanderers awaits at the end of the season on May 25. Brentford next face Arsenal on Wednesday.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]