Swansea City, Celtic agree on transfer fee for Korean midfielder Ki Sung-yueng


English Premier League team Swansea City has agreed on a fee with Scottish champions Celtic for Korean midfielder Ki Sung-yueng.

Swansea chairman Hew Jenkins confirmed on Monday that his club has agreed to pay around 6 million British pounds ($9.4 million) to land the 23-year-old, who is being pursued by several clubs.

Jenkins told STV: “We have agreed a fee with Celtic for Ki. We are currently holding discussions with the player and agent over personal terms.”

“We are aware of other clubs’ interest but we are hopeful we can conclude a deal in the next 24 hours. We feel he is a very exciting young player who has a good career in front of him.”

It is the first time for a top official of any club reportedly in the hunt for Ki to have disclosed a deal publicly.

He has been the subject of transfer rumors, which involved Arsenal, Liverpool, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers.

“I am well aware of news reports on my move,” Ki told reporters in Gwangju on Tuesday before a celebration of Olympic medalists native to the southeastern city. “Swansea is well organized and performs well, beating QPR 5-0 in its season opener.”

“I will move on and face a new challenge,” he said.

Ki is in Seoul following the Olympic celebration in Gwangju, and set to return to his club in a few days.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon told British news media: “It is unfortunate to lose a quality player. But that has been our strategy at the club for the last two or three years: cultivate these players and eventually move them on if they want to go.”

If the deal is finalized, Ki would become the 10th South Korean to play in the Premier League. Currently three players are active in the league: Park Ji-sung with QPR, Park Chu-young with Arsenal and Ji Dong-won with Sunderland.

Swansea City, founded in 1912, plays in the Premier League as the only Welsh club to have ever done so since the Premier League was formed in 1992. It was promoted from the second-tier Championship in the 2010-2011 season, and finished 11th in its Premiership debut season.

Ki was signed by Celtic from FC Seoul in December 2009. Over the course of the 2011-2012 campaign, he scored seven goals, playing a key role in helping Celtic win the Scottish title.

He impressed in the London Olympics by scoring the winning penalty against Great Britain, giving South Korea a semifinal berth. The country achieved the feat of winning an Olympic medal in football for the first time ever.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)