OPINION
It’s not been the smoothest of starts to life at Newcastle United for summer free agent signing Ki Sung-yeung.
The rarely-seen midfielder has made just three appearances for the club so far this season, and hasn’t been included in the match day squad for two of the club’s last three games.
In fact, the last time he featured at all was on the first day of September against champions Manchester City. That’s a bizarre statistic considering he hasn’t been having injury troubles.
His signing from Swansea City is looking increasingly baffling by the week. The South Korean is a decent player, but he can’t seem to penetrate Rafael Benitez’s team.
It’s not like the Spaniard is overly blessed with central midfield options, on the contrary, Jonjo Shelvey aside, he is bereft of any real quality in the middle of the park.
Mohamed Diame has been reliably picked as the Englishman’s partner in central midfield this term, but has yet to impress on any single occasion.
The Senegal international must make way for Ki against Manchester United on Saturday. The 29-year-old deserves to be given the opportunity that Benitez has so far denied him.
He is a tidy passer of the ball who keeps things simple, exactly what is required alongside a creative force like Shelvey. Additionally, he is a stout worker in the defensive side of the game and would be a valuable asset in the middle of midfield.
Benitez is struggling to get Newcastle firing this season, and he needs to switch things up if he is to reverse the club’s current plight.
Dropping Diame, who has been one of the chief offenders in the team’s woeful start to the campaign, would be a fine first step in readdressing the club’s ailing fortunes.
In Ki, Benitez has a ready made replacement who can come in and produce consistently decent games of football while allowing Shelvey to do his thing going forward.
