Newcastle United are ready to sell midfielder Ki Sung-yueng in the January transfer window, according to Football Insider.
The reputable football outlet claim on their website that Steve Bruce has given the Magpies the green light to sell the Korean international who has only started one game this season in the Premier League.
Football Insider report that Newcastle are willing to listen to offers in the upcoming window, with it being the last chance to secure a fee for the £40,000-a-week player [Spotrac] with his contract set to run out at the end of the season at St James’ Park.
OPINION
There is no surprise behind the possibility of Ki leaving the club in January, and it would be a smart move by Bruce to potentially get some money for the experienced midfielder, and then use it to replace him with a young option in the middle of the park. The 30-year-old has failed to take any opportunity given to him this season, and is well and truly at the bottom of the pecking order behind the emerging Longstaff brothers, as well as Isaac Hayden and Jonjo Shelvey, who have been given a new lease of life by Bruce in the past couple of weeks. The 30-year-old has lacked in defensive strength when anchoring the midfield, only averaging 0.3 tackles per game according to WhoScored – not good enough compared to the likes of Hayden, who has averaged 2.9. Bruce should look to get a deal sorted as early as possible for Ki, and free up space to make his own moves in the window.