Wolves strengthen presence in China

English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers has launched a series of projects aimed at helping Chinese soccer develop at grassroots level.

"Our Chinese owner Fosun International wants to give something back to Chinese football. Helping young Chinese players develop is a big goal," Wolves academy manager Scott Sellars said.

The academy has recruited four players of Chinese origin in the past 12 months.

One of those is 18-year-old striker "Dongda" He Zhenyu, who after impressing for then fourth-tier side Notts County in preseason matches was snapped up by Wolves on a scholarship last August.

Southampton was also said to be interested in Dongda, who had been at County since the age of 12.

A native of Shenyang, Liaoning province, Dongda is a former pupil of specialist soccer institution Dalian Dongbeilu Primary School.

Last month, he started up front for China's Under-18 national team at the Panda Cup invitational tournament in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Playing back home for the first time since his family moved to England in 2012, Dongda missed an open goal and as a result came in for some criticism on social media.

Sellars remains confident the youngster will bounce back from that setback and believes he has what it takes to make it to the top.

"If you want to be a professional player, things can't be perfect all the time," said Sellars.

"You will make mistakes and miss chances. The key is how to react to it. Dongda has the confidence to get back.

"Our job is to help as much as we can. The dream is to get them into the Premier League and develop football in China."

Wolves further strengthened their Chinese connections by signing a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Education last week.

The deal will see up to five elite UEFA coaches working on Chinese campuses in 2019.

"We want to help China improve coaching in schools, and hopefully that can have a positive effect on the players in China," said Sellars.

Wolves have been on the rise in recent years, having dropped to the third tier in 2013. Thanks to chairman Jeff Shi's investment in the likes of Raul Jimenez, Diogo Jota and Joao Moutinho, Wanderers last season defied expectations in their return to the top flight after six years.

The midlands club beat Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal en route to finishing seventh and securing a place in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League, garnering high praise for Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito.

China Daily - Xinhua