West Bromwich Albion sold Yuning Zhang to Chinese Super League side Beijing Sinobo Guoan in February 2019, 19 months after the Baggies paid £6.5m to sign him. The 23-year-old failed to make an appearance in his two seasons at the club and was forced to return to China after failing to cut it in Europe.
Zhang was signed from Vitesse Arnhem in 2017 and was called one of the hottest young talents from China, but another statement from Albion suggests there were other motives behind the move. The Baggies said: “The deal aligns strongly with the commercial strategy of Albion’s controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai in his efforts to grow the Club’s profile in his homeland.”
According to the Express and Star, Lai personally funded the transfer and paid his wages for the two seasons he was in the Midlands. It’s unknown whether he made his money back, however. Zhang was loaned out to Werder Bremen immediately upon his arrival to West Brom and was loaned out to ADO Den Haag the following season. The 23-year-old’s stint in the Netherlands was then cut short in February so he could be sold to China.
As per Transfermarkt, Zhang failed to make an appearance for Bremen (2017/18) and made only six appearances for Den Haag (2018/19). He’s turned things around in Beijing, scoring eight goals and making six assists in 32 games, but he will go down as an expensive flop in England.
The club may have made back their money spent through commercial interests, so Lai might not consider the transfer a failure. As a football decision, however, Zhang was certainly was a mistake who stagnated in his two years as an Albion player.
