Sunderland are reportedly still part of the battle to land talented midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng.
Reports today suggest that The Black Cats are still interested in signing the South Korean, despite the fact that they have yet to make a formal bid according to The Chronicle.
Sunderland are not yet out of the race to sign Ki Sung-Yueng – despite reports he is on the verge of joining Aston Villa.
The 25-year-old midfielder was at loan at Sunderland for the 2013/14 season and helped them reach The League Cup final. His game time was limited near the end of the season, with Gus Poyet preferring other options in the middle of the park.
He is currently back with his parent club, having joined Swansea in 2012 from Scottish side Celtic where he made over 60 league appearances. He had also previously played for FC Seoul before moving away from his home country.
His club honours have seen him win the Scottish Cup, Scottish Premier League and The Football League cup with Swansea. Ki also has 60 full international caps for South Korea and was part of their squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He played in all three group games, making one assist.
Sunderland will face a significant battle if they do want to sign Ki. The Daily Mail reported yesterday that the midfielder was about to join Aston Villa for a fee of around £6 million.
However, The BBC also reports today that Swansea want to keep the player in their squad for the upcoming season. Club chair Huw Jenkins said: “We want to keep him, but obviously he has got to want to stay here and sign a deal with us.”
With just one year remaining on his contract though, the Welsh club may be willing to sell him this year if a new deal cannot be agreed. Nathan Gibson
Let’s see him in action. Sunderland fans: should Poyet pull out all the stops to get him?
