Sung-yueng puts Swansea talks on hold as club battle for survival

KI Sung-yueng has put contract talks on hold to focus on Swansea’s fight for Premier League survival.

The South Korean midfielder, whose deal expires next summer, was an influential figure as Swansea ended a two-month wait for a victory with a 1-0 home win over West Brom.

Wilfried Bony’s late strike took Swansea off the bottom at the expense of Crystal Palace, and Ki believes that can provide the foundation to start climbing the table with talks over a new personal contract on the backburner.

“We have not talked with the club, we just want to focus on these games,” said Ki, who has made 140 appearances in five years at Swansea.

“If we are out of the relegation trouble then maybe it will be a better time to talk. The concentration has to be on these games and it is the same for me. I am relaxed about my situation and I will work as hard as I can.”

Having scored at Stoke last week, Bony registered goals in successive Premier League games for the first time since December 2014 — during his first Swansea spell.

Bony has worn the armband for the last three games in the absence of Federico Fernandez, and Ki paid tribute to the Ivorian’s leadership skills. “It was a big moment from a big player,” Ki said of Bony’s winner. “He is the captain and a big leader.”

West Brom now stand a point ahead of Swansea after a 14game winless run and have failed to score in Alan Pardew’s first two games in charge.