THE HAGUE, Feb. 22(Xinhua) -- ADO Den Haag and Chinese striker Zhang Yuning parted ways after only half a year, the Dutch soccer club announced on Friday.
After a disappointing half year on loan at ADO, Zhang Yuning is currently in China to finalize a deal with Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan, which will hire the 22-year-old forward from English side West Bromwich Albion.
Last summer ADO took over the Chinese international on loan from WBA, which relegated to the English Championship the previous season. By reaching the agreement with WBA and Zhang, ADO fulfilled one of their main goals, signing a Chinese player, since the club has been acquired by a Chinese owner, United Vansen (UVS).
ADO not only wanted to profit from Zhang on the pitch, but also off the pitch in a commercial way, but failed to meet both goals. Zhang returned with an injury to ADO from the Asian Games in August 2018 and only made his official debut late November. He played a total of six Eredivisie matches for ADO, all as a substitute.
"We had and still have a lot of confidence in Zhang Yuning," said ADO's soccer manager Jeffrey van As in a press release. "Due to circumstances, his period at ADO Den Haag did not deliver what the player and the club had hoped for in advance. After his long rehabilitation period, we would have liked to have seen him top fit and full of confidence. It is very unfortunate that this did not really happen."
Zhang was active for Gangzhou Greentown in China in his youth and signed a two-year deal at another Dutch club, Vitesse, in the summer of 2015. He made his debut in the first team on February 13, 2016 as a substitute against Heerenveen. In total he played 24 Dutch league matches, in which he scored three times.
The striker set a milestone that same month, when he became the first Chinese player to score in the Eredivisie, the highest Dutch soccer level. He came on a substitute in the 88th minute at Roda JC Kerkrade, scoring match winner in injury time.
