Article by Ben Griffis
China has had quite the roller coaster ride in football over the past decade and a half. From the heights of the mid 2010s to the current bankruptcies and once-great clubs falling off a cliff, all the while the national team has remained about as good as they were in 2010.
So, with the league’s clubs unable to attract the best foreign talent, they are having to rely more on domestic talent. In this article I will be looking into the data of the Super League, League One, and League Two this season (as of August 9th, 2023; 21 matches in the Super League, 17 in League One, and 14 in League Two) to find who might be the best U21 players in each league.
Criteria
I use data from Wyscout to determine what “best” means.
The first filtering criteria is that the player must have played at least 35% of the available minutes this season. About 500-600 minutes.
They also have to rank in the top 10 in their league for a specific “role score”, which I generate using data. For each role score (such as “advanced playmaker”, “attacking fullback”, “ball-playing CB”, advanced striker”, etc) I have a set of weighted metrics, which together equal 1. They are weighted by importance, so for example advanced playmakers need to be good at creating, but even if they can shoot, there’s less of an importance on shooting metrics than creation metrics. However, a “second striker” would have shooting metrics weighted more than creative metrics.
The metrics are all converted into a player’s z-score, which stands for their place in the metric’s distribution. You can read more about z-scores in football data in my article here. Having all metrics represent their z-score means that all variables end up on the same scale. So, while xG per 90 is on a different scale than passes per 90 (having 20 passes/90 is reasonable but 20 xG/90 is totally unbelievable), converting them to z-scores allows them to be included in the weighted model. I also normalize each metric’s z-scores, so that the lowest value is 0, and the highest value is 100.
Using weighted, normalized z-scores means that the highest possible role score is 100. In this case, the player would have to have the highest z-score for all metrics used. Naturally, this is very rare. For the purposes of this article though, I will normalize the role scores for each role one final time, so that the player with the highest score in a role (say, 94.2) will have a 100, and the lowest score will be 0.
The reason for this, is that in my role scores, a “number 6” role tends to have much higher scores for the top players than the “inverted winger” role scores. So while a 65 is a fairly high score for an inverted winger in my model, a 65 is quite low for a number 6 role, which tends to see several players above 90 no matter the league. This is a quirk of the data and variables included. So, for this article, I will do this final normalization so you can compare across roles much easier.
Finally, I exclude goalkeepers from this articles because I am sharing a lot of different data, but do not have any good-quality GK data analyses built yet. My apologies, so just know that this only includes outfield players.
Enough explanation… let’s dive in, we’ll look at each league individually.
Chinese Super League
Sadly, there are just 3 total U21 players who have played the minimum number of minutes to be included in this article. Wang Yu (21 years old) of Dalian Pro, and Hujahmat Shahsat (17) and Yuezheng Du (21) of Shenzen. None of these players rank in the top 10 in the league for any role, although Wang Yu comes close at 12th for a Defensive Midfielder score.
While we’re not off to a great start, luckily there are some interesting U21 prospects in the lower tiers of Chinese football, though there appear to be none currently playing any real role for a Super League club.
China League One
Five U21 players rank in the top 10 for at least one role in the 2nd tier of Chinese football. Shijie Wang (19) and Jie Ling (20) of Guangzhou FC, Abduhelil Osmanjan (19) of Qingdao West Coast, Chuqi Huang (19) of Dongguan United, and Shibin Li (18) of Yanbian Longding.
Shijie Wang – Guangzhou FC
Shijie Wang is by far the best of these players, and perhaps the best U21 talent in China right now. He ranks #1 in the league for both an Advanced Playmaker role, and a “Rounded Central Midfielder” role, which is exactly what it sounds like. He can do a bit of everything, and does most things well.
His main strengths are his creativity and vision. He’s always looking to play an decisive ball and is very forward-thinking. Technical player, but also very raw, as you would expect a 19 year old playing in China League One to be! He’s also put up all these numbers while playing in one of the worst teams in the league, with Guangzhou sitting 13th, two spots and 4 points from the relegation zone.
The image above visualizes some of his main actions. And you’re not reading this wrong, he has actually scored directly from a corner this season! But we can see he needs no invite to shoot himself, and is a menace at creating shots for his teammates. Beyond that, he’s also shown ability to win tackles and is there to help teammates recover the ball in either half.
Shijie Wang is my top player to watch in China right now, and I think with progressively more minutes per season and an improved team, either at Guangzhou or elsewhere, he could turn out to be a very good creative player for a Super League club in a few years. Not to mention the national team.
Jie Ling – Guangzhou FC
Another Guangzhou player (Guangzhou have an incredibly young side, one factor playing into them being in the relegation battle), Jie Ling is an interesting and balanced striker. Ling has good shot placement overall, but does find it hard to convert his chances, and coupled with not shooting as often as other strikers, that lowers the number of goals he can get.
However, he’s a good receiving outlet for a team who are pretty poor, able to receive the ball from deep and get into the box or lay it off to a more creative player. He’s also a very willing presser, whose work rate shows in the defensive actions below. A fair few tackles for a striker.
Abduhelil Osmanjan – Qingdao West Coast
The third player on the list is Qingdao’s young central midfielder Abduhelil Osmanjam. Osmanjan is fairly rounded for his age, and when he plays, is pretty involved in buildup. Osmanjan is a willing carrier of the ball and can impact play in progression, final-ball passing, or taking a shot himself.
His actions below highlight his balance in attack and defense. He takes a number of shots, mainly outside the box which naturally are difficult to score, and is great at facilitating possession by spreading balls out wide. Osmanjan is also able to pick up a loose ball anywhere on the pitch and decent at intercepting as well.
Osmanjan certainly has a long way to go before he might be ready for the Super League, but is a solid young player both in and out of possession. His development will be interesting to watch. Qingdao are in 2nd place right now, tied for the most points with 2 other teams, so if his team get promoted I would hope a loan back to League One is sorted out, as I would be hesitant to call him a Super League starting caliber player now, and minutes are hard to come by for young players in the top flight in China as we’ve seen earlier.
Chuqi Huang
Chuqi Huang of Dongguan United looks like a promising winger with an eye for goal. He’s also relatively defensive and good in a dribble. Certainly looks like an interesting prospect to watch as he earns more minutes.
Shibin Li – Yanbian Longding
Finally, Shibin Li of Yanbian Longding is another winger, in a different mold to Huang, that is performing well. Li is not necessarily the most creative or goal-threatening winger, but he is a direct winger who is important to his team for progressing the ball up the pitch and getting it into more
Overall, China League One has a lot more U21 players playing decent parts of the season than the Super League, but there aren’t many that are some of the best in the league. For that, we need to move down one more tier…
China League Two
The third division of China has a lot of players ranking inside the top 10 of a given role—30 of them in fact!
Below are 2 tables, one with the players ranking in the top 5, and one with the players ranking 6 to 10. For the sake of brevity, I won’t write a paragraph on each player, but rather just a few I’ve picked out.
Weijie Mao – Dalian Zhixing
Weijie Mao is a very dangerous winger, he’s able to create for his teammates and himself, and also looks to be good at recovering the ball after his team lose it.
Seeing his key events backs all of that data up. Lots of shot assists, and lots of shots. He shoots from seemingly anywhere, which might be something to work on as you can’t imagine all those shots from that far out are good shots.
Yuwang Xiang – Chongqing Tongliang Long
Yuwang Xiang is one of the most dangerous strikers in League Two, but not just because of his shooting. Xiang is one of the most creative strikers in the league, and is able to be pretty heavily involved in buildup compared to other strikers.
Xiang loves to shoot, with most his shots coming from inside the box but also shows a willingness to shoot from deeper positions that he picks up in order to get on the ball. The image below really shows how much of a menace he is to defenders.
Certainly one to follow, as his team are currently top of the league after the break into the promotion and relegation stages (the league has 2 groups, and it just split into pro/rel groups. Chongqing Tongliang Long are 5 points ahead of the 2nd-best team in the promotion stage before it gets underway). He looks like he might already be ready for some League One action, so if Chongqing go up, he could make a mark.
Xin Cheng – Haimen Codion
Haimen Codion’s Xin Cheng is a fairly balanced midfielder, able to be involved in creation, shooting, but most importantly, progression. Cheng is a very direct player who plays lots of vertical balls to split defenses and passes out wide into the final third.
Below we can see just how rounded he is. Already 2 goals from 13 shots, lots of progressive passes, almost all into the final third or box, and very strong at recovering the ball.
He Xinjie – Hainan Star
He Xinjie is another rounded striker in League Two, like Yuwang Xiang. Apologies for the lack of a radar, but Wyscout has not flagged any goals for him but he has 2.
Xinjie has an eye for an incisive pass, but not overly frequently. He does not shoot very often for a striker, but has 2 goals. He’s most involved in linking up play than in scoring.
Xulin Fan – Hubei Istar
Hubei Istar’s 17 year old midfielder Xulin Fan looks like a really interesting prospect. Very good in a defensive duel, and heavily involved in final-ball play; either shooting, assisting a shot, or being involved in one of the final few passes.
He has not played much yet, but is showing a lot of early promise. He looks like a player who could be molded in any role, from attacking to defensive midfielder.
Yin Hanlong – Haimen Codion
Yin Hanlong needs no invitation to shoot, and is fairly creative for a striker. Overall he’s relatively average, which in China, seems to be almost abnormal for a U21 player.
Hanlong’s shots come from anywhere. It’s not a surprise that he’s only scored one goal, from so many shots, as he takes loads of shots from a ways outside the box.
Iladin Abdugheni – Quanzhou Yassin
Abdugheni doesn’t seem to be a midfielder heavily involved in delivering the final ball, but likely receiving it after progressing the ball up the pitch. He ranks as one of the most progressive and attacking midfielders in the league.
Interestingly, he has not taken a shot inside the box yet, but has 2 goals. This image below also shows his strong progression, and his knack for being in the right spot to pick up a ball and start an attack. Certainly seems like an interesting player!
Zhenxian Zheng – Dalian Zhixing
I’ll end this article with one of the best U21 players in League Two: Zhenxian Zheng of Dalian Zhixing. He’s only played half the season so far, but he’s obviously been one of the best players on the pitch when he does play. He appears to have very good vision and eye for goal as a winger. He’s heavily involved in his team’s play and impacts much of what they do.
Again, he has only played about half the season but is putting up great numbers. At 21, he’s at the upper end of this age scale but still very young for Chinese professional football. His development will be one I’ll be keeping an eye on.
For the rest of the China League Two player radars, please see this link to a Google Drive folder. You can also find the League One radars in this folder.
Conclusion
Overall, there are not a lot of U21 players in the upper echelons of Chinese football who are playing an active role, at a high level, in their pro clubs. League Two has a lot of U21 players performing at high levels for the league, but we have to remain realistic and understand the level of the league. These players are still a ways off from Super League quality, let alone Chinese national team quality.
Shijie Wang is likely the best player I’ve talked about here, and one who I’ve had my eye on for a little while and expect him to either play a decent role in a Super League club next season, or be his club’s focal player next season.
China will need to do more to get their most promising young players adequate game time and at progressively higher levels of play. In the future, I can only hope that we see U21 players start to show up in the top 10 of the Super League role rankings. Several academies have been putting in lots of work (Guangzhou, who have several players here and an incredibly young squad, are one of them), so it should just be a matter of time.. Until then, we’ll have to settle for League Two being the place with the largest concentration of young players performing at relatively high levels for the league.
Asian Football Analysis Zone 
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