Korean midfield maestro reveals he hasn't spoken to Swansea since Laudrup's departure
Any regular readers of the site will know how much of a fan of Ki I am. Last season I put together a couple of pieces (links here & here) showing that, in terms of numbers at least, some of the criticism he'd received for "not getting stuck in" simply wasn't accurate. Defensively he put in just as much of a shift as Jonathan De Guzman, and in terms of ball retention he actually lost possession less than Leon! Impressive.
This season however, his face clearly didn't fit and he's spent the season on loan at Sunderland. The reasoning given is simply that we had too many central midfielders - with Canas, Leon, Jonjo & JDG it's likely that someone (evidently Ki) would have missed out more often than not, and we can't have predicted the injury crisis we experienced a few weeks ago where we only had one fit dedicated midfielder. There have, however, been other rumours as to his departure - stories abounded regarding the Korean demanding to play every game and of a miscommunication between Ki & Laudrup leading to the Dane losing faith in the midfielder.
The latter surrounded Ki returning home to Korea to receive treatment on an injury - it's rumoured Laudrup felt he was using this as an excuse to take it easy in the aftermath of Swansea winning the League Cup - though this did come from a dodgy translation of his dad's comments in the Korean media. In the meantime however, he's got on with endearing himself to Sunderland fans. He's done alright too.
Gus Poyet has been completely up front about his desire to sign Ki at the end of the season, but it seems that (if we play our cards right) he'll still be a Swansea player next season. For a start, every time Poyet has talked about Ki he's stated that until the Swans give an indication they'll sell he thinks it's unlikely, and secondly at the fans' forum organised by the Supporters Trust earlier this year Huw Jenkins indicated that Ki would definitely be returning to SA1 at the end of the season. He said it like he meant it too.
There is a danger though. Ki scored the winner against Chelsea in the Semi-Final of the Capital One Cup, as well as scoring the winning penalty against Manchester United in an earlier round, but it's his overall performances that will have endeared him to the Sunderland faithful. I got the distinct impression last season that despite his impressive statistics we weren't seeing the best of Ki due to the nature of the role he was being asked to play, and at Sunderland he's been given much more license to express himself.
The main benefit of this is that when he does find himself in front of goal, he's got license to shoot and doesn't have that little voice in the back of his head saying "you should probably be playing a five yard pass here", which was clearly largely to blame for his lack of goals in his first season at the Swans. You don't go from scoring multiple thirty-yard screamers for Celtic to not mustering a goal all season unless your game has changed dramatically.
Given Sunderland's clear desire to sign Ki permanently, you could understand if we'd have contacted him to see how he was doing and to reassure him we want him back for next season, but these comments seem to indicate that (since Laudrup left at least) we haven't been in touch. Ki was asked at a recent press conference if the Swans had been in touch since the Dane's departure:
“No, there hasn’t been anything.I don’t make my future plans because I don’t know about my future. I had no idea I would be going to Swansea and this season I had no idea I would be coming to Sunderland. It was unexpected.
“I had to make a choice to become a better player and Sunderland gave me a hand and an opportunity. I don’t know about my future, I just try to do my best in every single game I have. My life is like that. I just look to do my best.
“Maybe other footballers have a dream, to go to big clubs, but, for me, a big club is a club that wants me, a club that needs me – that is my idea of a big club. If they love you and need you, that is a big club for me.”
http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport/sunderland-afc/loan-star-ki-uncertain-over-sunderland-future-1-6482956
It seems fairly obvious to me that right about now we could be making a play for Ki. Jonathan De Guzman's loan expires at the end of the season, and it's unclear (and doubtful) whether he fancies another season in SA1 - couple that with Leon's advancing years and letting a central midfielder of Ki's calibre go to a Premier League rival would be a very, very big gamble. Especially when we already know Ki can operate in our system effectively.
One thing that could perhaps work in our favour is that the only thing which seemed to stop us recalling Ki in January was an oversight when it came to the loan paperwork. There was a clause which stated that if we were to recall Ki during the January window we had to let them know seven days prior to the window opening - something we didn't do which resulted in Jordi Amat having to play in midfield on a couple of occasions. That clearly showed an intent from the Swans to bring him back into the fold and hopefully that'll work in our favour.
The danger is that as well as the Sunderland fans growing attached to Ki, the player will develop a reciprocated affinity and could end up deciding he's better off in the North East. For a player who has only spent one year with us it must be fairly "six of one, half a dozen of the other" when it comes to signing for non-Champions League teams in the Premiership, and Sunderland have a bigger stadium, probably pay bigger wages...you get the picture.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and there's possibly one or two things we'd have done differently if we could go back, but what's important is the here, the now, and the future. Ki is still our player for another year after his loan expires, and his comments about wanting to feel wanted by a club to me say that if we make a decent play for him between now and the beginning of next season he's happy to stick around. This is all assuming the club want him around next season of course, but I'd be surprised if they've done an about turn on their stance since the Supporters Trust meeting - especially considering Ki's performances of late.
It remains to be seen where Ki Sung-Yueng will be playing his football next season, but I for one hope and expect it will be for Swansea City. Fingers crossed.
What do you think of Ki Sung-Yueng? Would you like to see him back at the Swans? Do you think he should have been loaned out? Get involved by commenting below!