Shen Menglu

Shen Menglu (; born 10 May 2002) is a Chinese professional footballer currently playing as a midfielder for Scottish Women's Premier League club Celtic and the China national team

Club career

Having represented Jiangsu Suning in her native China, Shen moved to Portugal in July 2021, joining Campeonato Nacional Feminino side Sporting CP. Though she made her debut for Sporting, and became the first Chinese woman to play in the top flight of Portuguese football, she found her opportunities limited, and terminated her contract after only half a year. She joined fellow Campeonato Nacional Feminino side Atlético Ouriense in January 2022, but struggled to establish herself in her natural role, finding herself playing left-back, a far-cry from her usual forward position.

In July 2022, she moved to Scotland, signing with Scottish Women's Premier League side Celtic, joining compatriot Shen Mengyu. In only her first league start for the club, she scored her first goal for the club - the third in a 6–0 win against Hamilton Academical. Her second goal of the season came on 30 October in another SWPL 1 game against Glasgow City; having come on as a second-half substitute for Amy Gallacher, Shen's cross from the left wing inadvertently beat Glasgow City's goalkeeper Lee Gibson after a miscommunication between the goalkeeper and defender Claire Walsh.

She scored a similar goal in Celtic's 5–1 away win against Hearts in the Scottish Women's Cup on 19 March 2023, again scoring with a misplaced cross from the left wing. The same month, she was nominated for the SWPL 1 player of the month, but lost out to Rangers' Brogan Hay.

International career

Shen has represented China at under-19 level, being called up to the squad despite being a year younger than her teammates. She credits teammate and friend Shen Mengyu with helping her adapt, as Mengyu was captain of the side.

Shen had been called up to the China women's national football team in 2023, but had to withdraw due to injury. In July 2023, Chinese women's manager Shui Qingxia came under fire from fans and media in China for failing to call up Shen, as well as Zhao Yujie, who were both deemed to have deserved call-ups for their respective club performances. Both had received an initial call-up to a training camp in Qingdao, but were not included in the final squad ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

She eventually made her senior national team debut on 29 October 2023 as a substitute in a 3–0 win against Thailand in the 2024 Olympic qualifying tournament.

Personal life

In July 2023, Shen returned to her hometown of Huai'an in the Jiangsu Province of China to partake in a charity event, where she gave local children signed photos and jerseys.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shen, Menglu
2002 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Huai'an
Footballers from Jiangsu
Chinese women's footballers
Women's association football fullbacks
Scottish Women's Premier League players
Sporting CP (women's football) players
Atlético Ouriense players
Celtic F.C. Women players
Chinese expatriate women's footballers
Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
Expatriate women's footballers in Scotland
Expatriate women's footballers in Portugal
Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Portugal