Swansea confirm talks to sign Ki Sung-yueng from Celtic

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins today confirmed the club have had a bid accepted for Celtic midfielder Ki Sung-yueng.

The Hoops confirmed earlier today the South Korea international was not travelling with the squad for their Champions League play-off in Helsingborg and was keen to move away from Parkhead.

With a fee of around £6million being reported, a potential deal was described by Celtic boss Neil Lennon as 'good business' although he stopped short of naming Swansea as the club with whom that business was likely to take place.

But Jenkins has since revealed to STV that it is indeed the Swans who are targeting the signature of the 23-year-old.

"We have agreed a fee with Celtic for Ki," he said.

"We are currently holding discussions with player and agent over personal terms."

A deal has not yet been agreed and Jenkins is keen to get the transfer completed before he is usurped by any other potential suitors.

"We are aware of other clubs interest but we are hopeful we can conclude a deal in the next 24 hours. We feel he is a very exciting young player who has a good career in front of him," he said.

Lennon, talking in Sweden after Celtic arrived in preparation for their match with Helsingborg, claimed the length of Ki's contract meant a potential windfall of £6million could not be ignored.

He said: "We are in advanced discussions with a club at the minute and we are hoping the deal will go through.

"I am not at liberty to say (if it's Swansea) but there may be interest from other clubs as well.

"He is not here, we have given him a bit of extra time because he has a lot to think about.

"He has only 15 months left on his contract and we feel it is a good offer and good business on our side."

The Celtic manager also admitted the policy at the club seemed to be heading in the direction of signing young players for small fees and developing them to earn a profit.

"It is unfortunate to lose a quality player," he said.

"But that has been our strategy at the club for the last two or three years, cultivate these players and eventually move them on if they want to go."

QPR and recently-promoted Reading have also been linked with a move for Ki, who joined Celtic from FC Seoul in 2009, but it now appears Swansea are the front runners.

Ki, who has 47 international caps, would be joining a side that currently sit second in the Barclays Premier League after celebrating Michael Laudrup's first competitive game in charge with a 5-0 victory at QPR on the opening day of the new season.

He was also part of the South Korea Olympic football squad and scored the fifth penalty in his nation's quarter-final shoot-out victory over TeamGB, which contained current Swansea players Neil Taylor and Scott Sinclair.

Ki would become Laudrup's seventh summer acquisition following the transfers of Spanish duo Michu and Chico as well as Arsenal defender Kyle Bartley and Preston striker Jamie Proctor, while Villarreal's Jonathan de Guzman and Itay Shechter from Kaiserslautern have been brought in on loan deals.

PA