Newcastle United have officially confirmed the signing of Ki Sung-yueng on a two-year deal from Swansea City. The 29-year-old has run out of a contract with the Welsh outfit and has been signed by the Magpies for free. Speaking to the press about his first signing of the 2018 summer window, Rafael Benitez said, “I’m pleased to welcome Ki to the club. He is the captain of his country, a good character and he will be a good addition to the squad.”
This should be a huge sigh of relief for the Newcastle faithful who have been sweating over the possible departure of Mikel Merino to a Spanish side for the past month. The 21-year-old is the only backup Benitez has in the central midfield position other than Isaac Hayden. Merino is close to making his move to Real Sociedad in the coming weeks, whose position is expected to be filled by Sung-yueng.
The South Korean international is a notable talent with 6 years worth of Premier League experience. He played in two matches for his country in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and was heavily involved in the 2-0 win over Germany in the group stages.
Sung-yueng arrived at the Liberty Stadium in the summer of 2012 from Celtic. He had scored 11 goals and 15 assists for the Scottish giants after making a total 87 appearances. His price tag of £7m made him the most expensive signing for Swansea at the time and now, the midfielder has 162 games, 12 goals and 11 assists under his belt for the Welsh outfit.
Ki Sung-yueng’s game is well rounded on both ends of the pitch. He is technically adept at controlling possession in high-pressure situations and is also defensively astute enough to win back the ball whenever required.
Swansea City have been relegated to the EFL Championship following their 18th place finish in the 2017/18 season. With Graham Potter taking over from Carlos Carvalhal as the club’s manager, City are expected to take on a new approach to immediately bounce back to the Premier League.
Ki Sung-yueng will have the chance to play a very important role for the Magpies under a highly decorated boss like Benitez. Jonjo Shelvey and Mohamed Diame were the Spaniard’s preferred choices for the holding midfield role last season but there is no guarantee over their starting berths in the upcoming campaign.
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Sung-yueng can easily find himself making regular appearances at Tyneside for the next few years.
