Sunderland win the race to sign Korea international Ji Dong-Won

AG: Ji Dong-Won, South Korea (Getty Images)

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Chunnam Dragons have officially announced their young Korea international Ji Dong-Won will join Premier League club Sunderland despite interest from PSV Eindhoven and Schalke.

Ji, 20, had been pursued by the Black Cats and the Dutch champions in recent weeks, but Sunderland have won the race for his signature.

The Jeju-born forward will sign a three-year deal with the English club pending a medical after Korea’s Olympic qualifier against Jordan next week.

Ji, who spent time in England with Reading as a teenager, had impressed playing for his country at the 2011 Asian Cup, where he scored four goals.

Chunnam president Yoon Jong-Ho told Yonhap News on Tuesday that the Korean club had accepted an offer from Sunderland.

“I received the final proposal from the English team on Monday, with a transfer fee satisfying enough for us to release Ji,” said Yoon.

Sunderland have been keen to sign a new forward following the departure of Darren Bent to Aston Villa during the January transfer window, while Danny Welbeck recently returned to Manchester United after a loan spell.

It had been reported Sunderland were offering Chunnam €900,000 (£800,000) for Ji prior to PSV’s interest, with The Korea Times speculating the latest deal could be worth €2.5m (£2.2m).

Late last week the player had told Yonhap News he was undecided on which offer to take.

“My team and agent are still negotiating closely. I personally want to play for the best team I can and where I can get more chances to play,” he had said.

“Eindhoven is a great club that often tops the league. However, I heard that the Dutch league is not like the old days.

“Sunderland is a mid-level team, so there is always change in the squad. But they are playing on the big stage called the Premier League.”