The South Korean midfielder arrived on a free in the summer, signing a two year deal after leaving Swansea City.
Ki was brought in as a replacement for Mikel Merino, who left the North East after just a year. The youngster returned to Spain for £10million, with Real Sociedad paying his release clause.
Initially, it looked like Ki was an adequate replacement. The 29-year-old has done well in the Premier League in the past, and built up a good partnership with Jonjo Shelvey at the Liberty Stadium.
However, it’s a partnership we’re yet to see. Ki has played just three times for Newcastle, starting in defeats to Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City.
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Was signing Ki a mistake?
In the two Premier League games, it was almost impossible for Ki to impress. He played alongside Mo Diame in the middle of the park, in two games where Newcastle barely saw any of the ball and spent most the game defending.
In recent weeks, he hasn’t even been on the bench. Even the want-away Isaac Hayden appears to be ahead of Ki in the pecking order.
If lack of mobility is the issue, then why did Newcastle sign Ki in the first place?
He’s decent in possession, but has never really been a box-to-box style midfielder. We’ve seen that when he was at Celtic, Sunderland and Swansea.
His strengths are keeping the ball and helping control the tempo of a game, which is something Newcastle really struggle at. So if mobility is the reason he’s not playing, it begs they question why on earth was he brought in as a Merino replacement to begin with.
It’s not like Merino was the most mobile either…
