Adelaide United’s boom Chinese recruit Yongbin Chen expected to land in South Australia next week
Adelaide United’s Chinese visa player Yongbin Chen – the Reds’ fifth import – has had his visa finally approved. He will be their latest Chinese since Shengqing Qu.
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Adelaide United’s Chinese visa player experiment is just days away from landing at his new club.
Football director Bruce Djite revealed that 20-year-old Yongbin Chen, a player that featured for the Reds’ sister club’s third division Qingdao Red Lions reserves team, has had his visa approved.
He is Adelaide’s fifth and final visa signing for the season joining skipper Michael Jakobsen, Michael Maria, Kristian Opseth and Mirko Boland.
Chen is expected to train with the Reds’ youth team, arriving with a translator next week as part of a plan devised by Reds and Qingdao boss Piet van der Pol.
The Dutchman last month said Chen’s arrival would prompt a flurry of Chinese media that would be interested in following the player’s progress in Australia after retired Shengqing Qu was the Reds’ last Chinese signing.
“The visa has been all approved and he should be here next week, we’re just looking at flights at the moment,” Djite said.
“He doesn’t speak English, so he’ll be coming out with his own translator.
“My understanding is that Piet (van der Pol) has organised the translator at least to settle him in.”
Van der Pol last month told The Advertiser Chen had been restricted to playing for Qingdao’s reserves after he previously held a private contract.
According to transfermarkt.com Brazilian-born Chinese citizen Elkeson, 30, is the nation’s No. 1 transfer buy when Chinese club SIPG sold him for $9.5 million to Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao in July.
Elkeson is among just 12 Chinese players sold via the FIFA endorsed system.
Jiali Hu, 20, is among the most interesting transfers when the former Shanghai Shenhua reserves player was sold to Dalian Yifang reserves for $3.8 million in July.
Djite said Chen had been given a training program to follow by Adelaide after Qingdao’s first team had ended its season on October 12 in a 23rd place play off against Nanjing Shaye, losing on aggregate to finish 24th.
“He’s up to speed as much as he can be,’’ Djite said.
“It’s alway hard when you train by yourself.
“He’ll start with our youth team in order not to put him straight in with the first team boys with a view that if he progresses as we would like, he would feature with the first team.
“The idea is to develop Chinese players to create stronger links between us and Qingdao Red Lions.
“Getting players from over there to come here and make that step up is part of their plan.”
“I don’t know much about Yongbin Chen, like everyone here, I’m keen to see what he is like when he gets here.”
Djite said Chen’s working visa was issued last week.
“He had to go and get chest x-rays from specialists,’’ he said.
“He had some medical tests that all Chinese have to get before they come over with a work visa whereas like Europeans they don’t have to they can get the visa.
“They have to go to a doctor that’s approved by DFAT (Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade).”