The look on Hwang In-Beom’s face, when accepting the Greek Super League’s Player of the Month award, told you all you needed to know.
With just one win in Olympiakos’ last five games – and their slim title hopes going up in smoke – the South Korea international was in no mood to smile, let alone celebrate.
“It is an honour for me. Thank you for voting for me,” Hwang sighs. “(But) I want to apologize to the fans, that we are not at the top of the standings.”
With Rangers looking to ascend back to the top of the Scottish Premiership tree, having fallen down a few branches since 2021, Hwang’s drive, determination and side-before-self mentality could have been just as important to the Ibrox cause as his wonderful passing range and supreme tactical intelligence.
According to Greek reporter Georgios Sieridiss, the Glasgow giants sent scouts to watch Hwang in action during February’s Athens derby between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos. Hwang, capped nearly 50 times by his country, is one of a number of Greece-based players on Rangers’ radar, including Dimitrios Kourbelis, Giannis Kotsiras and Aris winger Luis Palma.
But while reports suggest that Rangers are well-placed to land Palma – the Honduran potentially arriving as a replacement for the out-of-contract Ryan Kent – Hwang has felt like a bit of a pipe dream for a while now.
Rangers likely to miss out on Hwang In-Bem
According to reports coming out of his native Korea, Champions League semi-finalists Inter Milan have taken a keen interest on Hwang too. As have Bayer Leverkusen, and an Eintracht Frankfurt side who broke Gers hearts in last year’s Europa League final.
Inter, Leverkusen and Frankfurt. Three clubs from far more high-profile, well-heeled leagues. Three clubs boasting the kind of financial muscle Mick Beale can only dream of.
Factor in Hwang’s rumoured £13 million price-tag, and you’ve got what some refer to as a ‘non-starter’.
Kieran Dowell might not arrive at Ibrox with 43 international caps under his belt but, such is the nature of the finances in Scottish football, Rangers are likely to have to make do with cut-price additions and free-agents. Rangers, the Daily Record say, have agreed a three-year deal with the out-of-contract Norwich City playmaker.
If recent months have taught us anything, however, it’s that there is value to be found in the market. Even while operating on a restrictive budget. In Malik Tillman, Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin, Rangers successfully restructured their midfield to the tune of just £3 million.
Dowell, at just 25 and boasting an impressive number of goals and assists despite his limited starts at Carrow Road, could yet prove to be another excellent – and highly-affordable – piece of business.
