Will Ki grasp his chance to be a key performer again?
PAUL Clement spoke of his delight at seeing Ki Sung-yueng back in Swansea City colours against Huddersfield, but how much longer the head coach will be able to call on the South Korea captain is far from certain, writes ANDREW GWILYM.
Ki, 28, had been forced to miss the opening two months of the season after aggravating a knee problem on international duty in June.
An operation was required to clean out the area and an initial return date of mid-September was given, but Swansea did not want to rush Ki back and risk another problem arising and he has been eased back into action.
He featured for the Under-23s against Celtic in the Premier League International Cup and also got game time under his belt with South Korea during the recent international break.
That paved the way for a bench role – with Renato Sanches injured – against the Terriers and a welcome return to action.
Indeed, Ki looked lively, sending an angled left-foot shot just wide of Jonas Lossl’s far post as Swansea eased their way to a first home win of the season and a muchneeded morale boost.
But Ki himself will know that there will need to be plenty more where that bright cameo came from if he has aspirations on being a Swansea regular and being at the Liberty next season.
The former Celtic man is out of contract next summer, there is currently no indication that talks over an extension have begun.
He can start to talk to potential suitors as early as January and a lot of what happens next will be down to him and his performances.
Clement is an admirer, of that there is no doubt.
At the start of the season the head coach spoke of the three key players he was missing: Gylfi Sigurdsson, Fernando Llorente and Ki Sung-yueng.
And, as Ki approached a return to full fitness, the 45-year-old suggested the midfielder is among the more under-rated player in the Swans squad.
“He’s a really good player. In my opinion, he’s an underrated player, not in my eyes but some of the things I see written about him,” said Clement.
“He’s a very good player. He’s strong athletically, he’s a lovely technical player and I’m glad he’s fit again. You saw at the end of last season how important he was – he played in all those games in the run-in.
“We know in the past he’s managed to score a number of goals. In that role (under Garry Monk), he was more of a box-to-box midfielder and got forward. He’s a good technical player so hopefully he can come up with some assists and goals when he gets on the pitch.”
Some Swansea fans would not necessarily agree with Clement’s assessment, and they have become frustrated with Ki over the course of the last two seasons.
Truth be told, Ki has not threatened to reach anywhere near the sort of form he produced during Monk’s full season at the helm, when Swansea finished eighth in the Premier League.
“I sat down with him and told him I saw a future for him at this club, he had offers to leave and go elsewhere but I always felt he had a big contribution to make,” said Monk at the time.
“He has been excellent for us, he’s had a really good season and been a very big player for us.”
Ki scored eight goals that season, and was even linked with a move to Arsenal the following summer. Despite his and Swansea’s recent difficulties he remains a classy, silky player to watch when on song.
But he underwent knee surgery in that summer of 2015 and he has lacked the same authority and assuredness since, albeit, in his defence, he has not been the only Swansea player to struggle in that regard over the last two seasons.
However, in view of the way he often seemingly meanders through games, allied to his quiet persona, has prompted a perception that he is not enthused by the physical hustle and bustle, despite his 6ft 2in frame.
That may be unfair, but there can be no denying he has looked well adrift during sections of the last two seasons.
There were some glimpses of a player edging back towards his best form of the tail-end of last term, keeping his place in the side after making an impact from the bench against Stoke as Swansea kickstarted the revival that would see them stay in the Premier League.
It made the knee surgery Ki underwent in the summer particularly frustrating for player and coach but, now fit again, he has an opportunity he needs to take if he wants a future at Swansea beyond next summer.