| Day | Time (ET) | Player | Club | Opponent | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 7:45:00 AM | Ki Sung Yueng | Sunderland | Southampton | NBC Sports |
| Saturday | 10:00:00 AM | Lee Chung Yong | Bolton | Huddersfield Town | TBD - BeIn |
| Saturday | 10:00:00 AM | Kim Bo Kyung | Cardiff City | @Manchester City | NBC Extra Time |
| Sunday | 10:30:00 AM | Park Ji Sung | PSV Eindhoven | @Ajax | GolTV |
| Winter Break | n/a | Hong Jeong Ho | Augsburg | ||
| Winter Break | n/a | Ji Dong Won | Augsburg | ||
| Winter Break | n/a | Son Heung Min | Bayer Leverkusen | ||
| Winter Break | n/a | Park Joo Ho | Mainz | ||
| Winter Break | n/a | Koo Ja Cheol | Wolfsburg |
Ji watched from the bench this week but now gets a move to Augburg to join HJH for six months.
Lee Chung Yong started for Bolton on the weekend and may start again.
Kim Bo Kyung was strong for Cardiff on the weekend and will want to help recreate the Man City upset earlier in the season. May start.
Park Ji Sung returns to action and should start.
Friendly season continues for the German clubs... sorry do not keep track though Leverkusen is playing a mini tourney (45 minute matches) on Sunday.
Ki should start.
My thoughts on Ki at Swansea vs Sunderland? First, I imagine that the recall option is expired for all intents and purposes. Perhaps Swansea could pay a fee and get him back... but its really all irrelevant as it seems Laudrup doesn't want Ki back.
So how'd we get here? One would think that Ki was a perfect fit at Swansea... passing and possession being key skills to be a Swansea footballer:
1. Being played too deep. Certainly Ki was good in the deepest role for Sunderland but once pushed ahead a bit with Cattermole behind, Ki had the ability now to really use his intelligence to push play forward and even help out on counterattacks. Ki did blame his deep role last year for his lack of goals.
2. Laudrup preferring his guys / surprise pre-season performance by Shelvey / de Guzman allowed to be loaned again. Bony took so long to get his minutes... and perhaps if injuries hadn't happened, Bony may still be a bench warmer. Plus the twin surprises at midfield in de Guzman and Shelvey made CM a crowded position.
3. Ki also may be to blame. He had a flare up with the NT manager (although the NT manager was clearly horrendous). He may have been distracted by his new relationship / pending wedding. He certainly didn't look all that sharp in pre-season. Also the "dead leg" injury that knocked him out of the last month of the season last year seemed really mysterious... perhaps a punishment of some sort?
That all said, Sunderland reaps the benefit of all this, and its all worked out for everyone involved. Ki gets to play and showcase his skills most every match, Sunderland are in the cup semis and inching out of the relegation zone and Swansea seem to be pleased with their new CMs.
