China captain Zheng Zhi, who is preparing to head home after his
loan spell in England with Charlton Athletic, says his long-term
future is in the hands of his club Shandong Luneng.
Zheng was loaned to Charlton by the Chinese champions in January
and impressed in 12 appearances during what ultimately proved to be
a fruitless battle against relegation from the Premier League.
Charlton had an option on a permanent deal for the 26-year-old,
who missed a hat-trick of chances in Sunday's 2-2 draw at
Liverpool, but Zheng was quoted last month as saying he would leave
the Valley if the Londoners went down.
"Frankly speaking I have no idea about my future," the versatile
midfielder told Monday's Titan Sport.
"What I can do at the moment is collect all the things here and
go back to Shandong Luneng... All I can say is everything in
England has come to a full stop.
"I was loaned by Luneng. What I do and where I go next should be
decided by the club."
Zheng, who was voted Charlton's player of the month in March,
said whatever happened he would never forget his time in South
London.
"In my opinion, the Premier League is the toughest league in the
world," he added.
"I will miss the days in Charlton. This experience was the most
unforgettable of my life. I still have my dreams and the ability to
carry out these dreams, so I have no regrets."
The Chinese Super League (CSL) season is only 10 matches old but
Zheng is likely to restrict his appearances for Shandong to the
East Asian Champions (A3) Cup from June 7-13 before China's Asian
Cup finals campaign starts in July.
(China Daily via AP May 15, 2007)