Can Ki Sung-yeung kick on after his impressive cameo for Newcastle United on Saturday?
Speaking to The Northern Echo, Mo Diame has praised the ‘quality’ of Newcastle United team-mate Ki Sung-yueng.
The South Korean midfielder, who joined Newcastle on a free transfer this past summer, impressed on Saturday as United picked up their first win of the season by beating Watford 1-0.
Ki replaced the injured Jonjo Shelvey early in the second half and the 29-year-old seems to be finally coming into a bit of form after originally struggling on Tyneside.
The former Sunderland and Swansea City midfielder has only played 55 minutes of Premier League football since the 2-1 defeat by Manchester City on September 1, and has failed to even make Rafael Benitez’s match-day squad on four occasions.
He has been plying his trade in the United Kingdom since joining Celtic way back in 2009, and Diame says he was familiar with his team-mate talent long before he joined Newcastle.
“He’s a quality player,” Diame, a £4.5 million signing in 2016, told The Northern Echo. “Since I’ve been in the UK, I’ve seen him play before at Swansea and Sunderland, so I know how good he is.
“It’s easy to play with a quality player like him. He has a lot of composure, he plays good passes, and he is good for the team.
“Hopefully, we can get another good result against Bournemouth – whether Ki or Jonjo plays – because everybody deserves it, from the players, to the fans, to everyone who works here. We deserve another win for the effort we put in.”
Only goal difference is keeping Benitez’s side out of the relegation zone and if Ki can kick on from his cameo against Watford then it’ll be great for the Magpies.
Problem is, he has played well for Newcastle before, only to regress and drop out of the squad entirely, so it remains to be seen if he can maintain this promise.
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