Zhang Yuning (; born 5 January 1997) is a Chinese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who currently plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

club

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in the Chaoyang District in Beijing and their ho ...

Club career

Zhang Yuning started his football career when he joined

Hangzhou Greentown Zhejiang Professional Football Club (), commonly referred to as Zhejiang FC or simply Zhejiang, is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (C ...

's youth academy in 2008. Due to several good performances for the academy, he was called up to the Chinese national under-17 team for the

2012 AFC U-16 Championship The 2012 AFC U-16 Championship was the 15th edition of the tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC approved Iran as hosts of the championship on 23 November 2011.

and scored two goals in three matches during the tournament. During the 2015 season, he was promoted to the club's first team, making his debut and scoring his first goal for the club on 13 May 2015 in a 1–1 draw against Wuhan Hongxing in the

2015 Chinese FA Cup Yanjing Beer 2015 Chinese FA Cup () was the 17th edition of Chinese FA Cup. Schedule Qualifying rounds Group A Group B ;Tiebreakers *Guangzhou Haoxin, Dalianwan Qianguan and Dalian Ruiheng are ranked on head-to-head record. ...

. In July 2015, Zhang transferred to

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

side Vitesse, signing a two-year contract. He made his debut for the club on 13 February 2016 in a 3–0 win against

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

, coming on as a substitute for

Valeri Qazaishvili The French name Valery () is a male given name or surname of Germanic origin ''Walaric'' (see Walric of Leuconay), that has often been confused in modern times with the Latin name ''Valerius''—that explains the variant spelling Valéry (). The S ...

in the 86th minute. On 6 March 2016, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win against

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; Ripuarian: ), also known as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie. ...

. He scored his second goal of the season on 8 May 2016 in a 2–2 draw against

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germ ...

. Zhang was given the number 9 shirt for the 2016-17 season; however, he mainly played as a back-up to

Ricky van Wolfswinkel Ricky van Wolfswinkel (; born 27 January 1989) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club FC Twente. He has played top-flight football in the Netherlands, Portugal, England, France, Spain and Switzerland and ...

throughout the season. On 26 October 2016, he scored the opening goal in a 4-1 win against

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional football club based in Waalwijk, that is currently competing in the Eredivisie. Its name is derived from 'Rooms Katholieke Combinatie' ('Roman Catholic Combination' in Dutch) and was established as a merger ...

in the second round of the 2016-17 KNVB Cup. He scored his only league goal of the season on 3 December 2016 in a 3–1 home win against

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

. On 31 March 2017, Zhang extended his contract with the club until 30 June 2018. He was an unused substitute as Vitesse won 2–0 against

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and ho ...

in the 2017 KNVB Cup Final on 30 April 2017. In July 2017, Zhang transferred to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee and was immediately loaned to

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

for two years. He failed to establish himself with the first team and appeared on the bench just twice during the 2017-18 season. He was an unused substitute in a home match against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

on 29 April 2018 and an away match against

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...

on 12 May 2018. His loan spell was subsequently cut short in June 2018. On 22 June 2018, Zhang was loaned out to Eredivisie side

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

for the 2018-19 season. He suffered a ligament tear on his right ankle on 24 August 2018 when he represented the Chinese under-23 national team during the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

, ruling him out for three months. He made his debut for the club on 24 November 2018 in a 3–2 away win against PEC Zwolle. After playing six league matches for the club without scoring, his loan spell was cut short for the second time on 22 February 2019. On 24 February 2019, Zhang transferred to

side

. On 1 March 2019, he made his debut for the club in a 1–0 away win against

Wuhan Zall Wuhan Yangtze River Football Club, formerly Wuhan Zall Football Club (), is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 9 March 2019 in a 4–0 away win against

Chongqing Lifan Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic () is a defunct Chinese football club. The team was based in Chongqing. The club was founded in 1995 as Wuhan Qianwei before making their debut in the newly developed fully professional Chinese football league system ...

International career

Zhang made his debut for the Chinese national team on 3 June 2016 in a 4–2 win against

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, scoring twice and assisting a goal.

Personal life

Zhang comes from a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

family and has stated that

Kaká Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime as a playmaker at AC Milan, a period marke ...

is his footballing role model.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list China's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zhang goal.''

Honours

Vitesse *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

: 2016–17.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Yuning 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Wenzhou Association football forwards Chinese footballers Footballers from Zhejiang China international footballers Footballers at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for China Chinese Super League players Zhejiang Professional F.C. players Eredivisie players SBV Vitesse players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players SV Werder Bremen players ADO Den Haag players Beijing Guoan F.C. players Chinese expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Chinese expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Germany Chinese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Chinese Christians