Zhang out to exploit rare opportunity

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 7, 2017
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 Zhang Yuning.



Zhang Yuning traded Vitesse Arnhem for the German Bundesliga and Werder Bremen by way of a two-year loan from West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday as he seeks to grasp an opportunity that has become increasingly rare for Chinese players.

The 20-year-old striker, who has spent the last two seasons at Vitesse in the Netherlands, joined West Brom on a three-year contract before shifting immediately to Germany as the English Premier League club looks to nurture his talent.

"I'm very proud to have the chance to play for this team," said Zhang. "Werder is a big club in China and I'm really excited about this opportunity."

Should Zhang break into the Bremen senior squad, he would be unique as a Chinese footballer in plying his trade in one of Europe's leading leagues.

While the huge salaries on offer to the likes of Oscar and Carlos Tevez have claimed the headlines, China's rush to throw money at the game has had an impact on its own players, too.

As it stands, Zhang is the only member of Marcello Lippi's national squad attached to a club outside the Chinese Super League, where the wages on offer make overseas moves unattractive.

Highly-rated defender Zhang Linpeng, for example, is one of the first names on Lippi's China team sheet and the 28-year-old has been regularly linked with a move abroad, only to remain with Guangzhou Evergrande due to the club's financial strength.

New regulations put in place by the Chinese Football Association have only served to limit the likelihood of the country's players moving overseas to develop their careers.

Since the start of the season, teams in the CSL must field at least one domestic player under the age of 23 in their starting line-up, a move that has seen clubs lure young players playing overseas back to China.

The situation has created a conundrum for young players: move back to China for more money but few guarantees of development in the CSL or stay overseas and hope to break through in an even tougher environment.

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