Yuning Zhang couldn’t admit that he enjoyed his first experience of traditional German food, but he didn’t hate it either. The 20-year old talked about his initial experiences of Germany when he was unveiled at the official press conference on Wednesday.
Werder’s newest arrival has been trying hard to settle in his new hometown, Bremen. “I walked along the river and had a look around the town. From what I’ve seen, it’s a beautiful city,” said Zhang. He has also already found accommodation.
He has already left Bremen however, to join the rest of the team at the summer training camp in Zillertal. “Zhang wants to prove himself and will be training with the first time. We will be keeping an eye on his progress and expect him to increase the competition for places,” explained Frank Baumann.
Zhang wants to keep improving his football at Werder. “He’s a great guy. He’s very intelligent and is always willing to learn. He has made the right move by coming to Europe. He knows a lot about the culture and can speak perfect English,” described Baumann.
Zhang’s career objective is to establish himself at a higher level by playing regular Bundesliga football. He is the first Chinese player ever to join Werder and will stay at the club on loan for two years. “He is a real talent. We want to develop him further as a player,” said Baumann.
Zhang has another objective: to make Werder a well-known club in China. The Green-Whites were popular in China in his father’s generation, and there is potential for Zhang to make the club even more famous as a China national player. Zhang couldn’t confirm however, if he is famous in China. “I haven’t had many chances to just walk along the street back home. I don’t know if people will recognise me,” he said, laughing.
