OPINION
Newcastle United midfielder Mohamed Diame must be sweating over his status of being a guaranteed first-team starter ahead of the new season following the arrival of Ki Sung-yueng.
The Magpies confirmed last week that they had successfully signed Ki via their official website and that he would officially join the club on July 1st after his contract with Swansea City expires.
The 29-year-old defensive midfielder was a smart signing for Rafa Benitez to make as not only was the cost of getting him low, he is a proven Premier League player.
Ki has made a grand total of 166 appearances in England’s top-flight over the course of his career and put in several decent performances during the 32 outings he made for the Swans last year in order to try and save them from relegation.
While the midfield enforcer couldn’t stop his side dropping into the Championship, he will be a player capable of establishing himself as a regular member of Benitez’s first-team given the chance.
The Spanish manager will no doubt consider Ki for his first-team as soon as he gets up to speed with what his new boss expect.
The Chronicle shared that Benitez was hoping for Ki to rekindle his midfield partnership in the middle of the park with Jonjo Shelvey which previously worked very well at the Swans.
The duo just seemed to be on the same wavelength and with them both being fantastic passers of the ball it saw the Swans dominate possession in a lot of their outings and frustrate opponents as they couldn’t get the ball off them.
This reported Benitez desire to see Ki and Shelvey link up once again, but this time at the Magpies, must have Diame sweating about how this hope will effect his place in the first-team.
The 31-year-old, whose current deals sees him earn £45,000-a-week (Source: Spotrac), is Shelvey’s current partner in crime in the heart of the midfield and it’s clearly him who will lose his place if Ki impresses Benitez now that he has arrived.
The veteran midfielder started his 2017/18 campaign poorly but drastically improved at the turn of the year to be seen as a guaranteed starter at the club.
Diame made 33 appearances in total in his lastest campaign and with his contract set to expire next summer won’t be keen to drop down the pecking order.
Especially as this would effect his chances of proving that he is worthy of a new deal despite being the wrong side of 30.
Diame is more than capable of delivering the performances needed to keep Ki out of the team but with the 29-year-old now at the club if his standards drop he will find himself on the bench.
Therefore the Magpies ace must be sweating over his chances ahead of the new season especially due to Benitez reportedly hoping to see Shelvey and Ki establish a partnership.
