Celtic star Ki eyes England switch
South Korea's Celtic midfielder Ki Sung-yueng admitted Friday that he fears for the Scottish Premier League after Rangers' dramatic collapse and that he would be interested in a move to England. The 23-year-old has been linked with a transfer to Liverpool or QPR following the demotion of Rangers from the top flight due to financial problems. And while he is concentrating on South Korea's Olympic Games campaign, Ki believes a move away from Celtic could help his career. "Definitely, if Rangers drop out of the Scottish Premier League, the league will drop down as well. The Old Firm derby will be gone, so the league will be weaker. I worry about that," he said. "If I have a chance to play in England, it would be good to play here, but for now I am focusing on the Olympic Games. Who knows what will happen afterwards, but for now my focus is on the Olympics. "It is a good thing for me to be linked with these clubs (Liverpool and QPR), it means they know who I am and how I play. It is a good thing for me to improve, to play in England." Ki scored one goal and created another as South Korea beat Senegal 3-0 in their final pre-Olympic warm-up match at Stevenage on Friday. South Korea open their Olympic campaign against Mexico in Newcastle on July 26. "It is not an easy game. We know that every game will be tough and we have prepared very well," he said. "This team has been together for three years and although I am not sure about the result, I have a good feeling about the Mexico game." Meanwhile, Ki added that it is possible his experience of playing in British conditions may boost his country's hopes of taking a medal at the Games. "Maybe it will be some kind of advantage for me. For example, I am familiar with the pitches, the weather, the atmosphere, but all of our players are adapting to this kind of environment," he said. "We are very confident and we aim to finish first in our group." As well as Mexico, the South Koreans are drawn with Switzerland and Gabon in their first round group. Coach Hong Myung-Bo said it was crucial his players did not become complacent. "Mexico are technically very strong and have some good, tricky players. Switzerland will be well organised and Gabon have players who are physically superior to us, so our group matches will all be very hard," said Hong.
