Swansea City seal signing of Eom Ji-sung
Swansea City has completed the signing of Eom Ji-sung from Gwangju FC for an undisclosed fee, subject to visa approval and international clearance.
The 22-year-old - who can play as an attacking midfielder or out wide - becomes the Swans’ second signing of the transfer window following the arrival of Portuguese midfielder Goncalo Franco.
Eom will add creativity and guile to head coach Luke Williams’ options in the final third, with the Swans’ boss having spoken of the need for a greater cutting edge and accuracy in attack.
He has put pen to paper on a four-year contract in SA1, and will wear the number 10 shirt for the Swans.
“We know he is a player who is going to bring pace and creativity for us,” said Swans boss Williams.
“He has an ability to play in different positions, we have a chance to assess that in training and in friendlies.
“From that we can build a picture of how he likes to play when he is out wide or when he comes in to more central areas.
“We wanted to increase the amount of attacking actions we can have on the pitch at the same time, and be more dynamic in terms of how we attack the middle of the pitch, and the outside of the pitch.
“Hopefully Ji-sung can give us more tools and dynamic actions to carry a greater threat.”
The South Korea international has four seasons of senior football under his belt and was capped by his country when he made a goalscoring debut against Iceland in 2022.
Eom has scored 20 goals in 108 K League appearances for Gwangju, since making his senior club debut in 2021.
His arrival reflects Swansea's desire to look outside more traditional markets for signings, as part of a global outlook towards player recruitment, and he has been extensively scouted over a number of months.
Eom becomes the first Korean to play for the Swans since midfielder Ki Sung-yueng. Ki, who hails from Gwangju, helped the club win the League Cup in 2013 and scored 12 goals in 162 appearances between 2012 and 2018.
And Williams believes the player’s decision to make the move to south Wales speaks volumes about his attitude to his game.
“We have signed someone who is very serious about his football, and wants to play at the highest level he possibly can,” added Williams.
“He is ambitious and will do whatever he needs to do to get to where he wants to get to.
“When I spoke to him I could feel that coming across, and I feel sure we have the player with the correct mindset to come here and be part of what we want to do and understand what this club means to so many people.”