National youth teenager Du Yuezheng signed for Marbella Based in Spain, there is still work to be done

The reporter reported coldly On August 21, Spain's Marbella FC officially announced the signing of Chinese teenager Du Yuezheng on a three-year contract. This is the latest attempt of the Chinese men's football team Ouliuyang, although Marbella's La Liga, which is only the third division of Spain, is currently the highest level of competition for Chinese men's football players in the European League. Du Yuezheng, who will turn 19 years old on September 14, entered the squad in the first round of the new season of the Western Association on August 24. Marbella got off to a flying start with a narrow 1-0 win over Real Madrid B, but unfortunately Du Yuezheng did not get a chance to play, and if he wants to establish himself in the third division of Spain, he still needs to work harder at a young age.

Du Yuezheng, who plays as a striker, joined the Shenzhen team U16 echelon in 2021, and in June 2022, Du Yuezheng made his career debut at the age of 16 years and 9 months against Chengdu Rongcheng. In the 2023 season, Du Yuezheng has become the semi-main striker of the Shenzhen team, with 16 starts in 26 appearances in the Chinese Super League, but unfortunately he did not score. In April this year, Du Yuezheng participated in the U23 Asian Cup with the Chinese Olympic team, and when the Chinese Football Association announced the training list of the U19 national youth team at the end of July, Du Yuezheng's club has been shown as Marbella.

Although the Marbella club only officially announced Du Yue's recruitment on August 21, he had already participated in Marbella's pre-season warm-up matches. Du Yuezheng, who turned 19 in September, is 1.85 meters tall and accumulated a lot of experience in the Chinese Super League last year, which will help him establish himself in the third division of Spain. Marbella is a promoted horse in the Western Association League, and its strength is in the middle and lower reaches of the league, which should provide Du Yuezheng with some room to play. In addition to Du Yuezheng, 21-year-old young goalkeeper Lee Chang-yi joined Segovia Gymnastics, which is also in the Western Conference League, and has played many times in the preseason, but also missed the squad in the first round of the new season last weekend. It is a pity that the two teams are in different groups of the Western Association League, and the regular season of the Western Association League cannot stage the Chinese player derby. If the two teams can finish in the top five at the end of the season and enter the promotion play-offs, maybe the two Chinese players will have a chance to play each other.

It is not easy for young Chinese players to survive in Spain's lower leagues, with goalkeeper Li Hao playing in Conea in the Spanish League First Division last season and making just two appearances this season, before the team was relegated to the fourth division. Last season, Qiu Jishang, a 19-year-old player from Evergrande Football School, joined Toruń CF in the West Association B (fourth division), and only made two substitute appearances this season. Previously, He Xiaoke, the captain of the U14 national junior and U16 national junior team, had stayed in Spain for 3 years and could only play in Savodale in La B (second division) and FC Andorra echelon. Moved to San Cristoba in Spain's fifth division last season, making seven appearances and six substitutes this season, returning to Shandong Taishan this summer.

It is worth mentioning that Marbella is also a Chinese-funded club, and in 2018 Guirenniao Group acquired a majority stake in the club. The 18-year-old Du Yuezheng can take the first step to stay in Europe in Marbella, which is inseparable from the club's Chinese-funded background. Brazil's Casemiro became a minority shareholder of the club this summer, giving Marbella an extra level of popularity.