Swansea City have completed the signing of South Korea international Ki Sung-Yeung from Scottish Premier League giants Celtic for a club-record fee of £5.5 million, the Daily Mail understands.
“When I look at Swansea I see a club that is growing and growing, and the style here is very attractive to me,” Ki told the club’s official website.
“Last year I watched them a lot in the Premier League and they did things very differently to a lot of the other teams. They wanted to keep the ball and pass it around, which I love to do. When they didn’t have the ball they worked so hard to get it back quickly.
“It was very impressive, and I think I can grow as a player here and help the club move forward.”
The 23-year-old midfielder will cost the Welsh club £2 million more than last year’s record signing Danny Graham.
With that said, Swansea supporters will have to wait to see their club-record signing in action, with Ki set to miss Saturday’s match against Premier League newcomers West Ham United at the Liberty Stadium.
Prior to completing a move to Swansea, the South Korean midfielder had been linked with a shock move to English Premier League giants Arsenal.
Ki tallied eight goals and six assists in 51 appearances for club and country last term. In addition, he was a member of the South Korean ‘dream team’, as dubbed by manager Hong Myung Bo, that won the bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics.
Swansea City: Ins and Outs
In: Jonathan De Guzman (Villarreal, loan), Chico (Genoa), Michu (Rayo Vallecano), Kyle Bartley (Arsenal), Jamie Proctor (Preston North End) and *Ki Sung-Yeung (Celtic)
Out: Joe Allen (Liverpool)
*Pending a work permit
As you can see, the Swans have done some business this summer, and their 5-0 opening day victory certainly confirms that. New boss Michael Laudrup and Swansea’s front office have been able to make all of the signing listed above with the cash they received for Joe Allen from Liverpool.
It would not be the first time that a Premier League side took advantage of Liverpool’s generosity. You may remember the Reds paying Newcastle United £35 million for a lad named Andy Carroll.
That same season (last year), the Magpies were able to bring the likes of Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye and Papiss Demba Cisse to the Sports Direct Arena, while Liverpool spent an additional £40 million on the likes of Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson.
Milan keen on Denilson
According to Sky Sports, Italian giants AC Milan are lining up a move for out-of-favour Arsenal defensive midfielder Denilson, who is currently on loan at Sao Paulo.
The Brazilian midfielder is also said to be drawing additional interest from Italy and Russia. Denilson spent last season on loan at Sao Paulo after struggling to hold his place in the Gunners’ starting XI.
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