Zhang Linyan scored on Tottenham's debut, and the women's Premier League is expected to usher in the first "Chinese derby"
In the group stage of the English Women's FA Cup in the early morning of October 12, Beijing time, the Premier League Tottenham Hotspur Women's team beat Reading 6-0. Zhang Linyan, a 22-year-old Chinese international who had just joined Tottenham on loan, started the game and scored the first goal of her career in the 10th minute to make her debut for Tottenham. After receiving the approval of Tottenham Women's Swedish manager Wittehamen, Zhang Linyan is not far from making her debut in the Women's Premier League.
On October 5, Zhang Linyan flew from Shanghai to London with Shen Mengyu, a national team teammate who has joined the women's Su Super League Celtic club. The 22-year-old moved up shortly after winning last season's Swiss Women's League Player of the Year to join Tottenham Hotspur in the Women's Premier League.
The reason why Tottenham applied to the Chinese Football Association to recruit Zhang Linyan before the 3rd and 4th finals of the Asian Games is also to hope that the small striker with both technology and breakthrough ability can integrate as soon as possible to help the team compete for the Premier League title.
Tottenham Hotspur Women host Bristol Women on the afternoon of October 8 local time. Wearing the number 18 shirt of Tottenham Hotspur Women's football, Zhang Linyan is in the team's Premier League squad for the first time. In that match, Tottenham Hotspur Women won 3-1 to claim their first Premier League victory of the new season. However, considering that Zhang Linyan has only practiced with the team twice, and her body has not yet adjusted to her best condition, head coach Witthaman did not arrange for her to play.
Of course, being included in the Premier League squad means that Zhang Linyan has become part of the coaching staff's plan, so she appeared as a starter in the FA Cup group stage against Reading Women, which is no surprise in the British media. Zhang Linyan lived up to her mission in the game, receiving an assist from her teammate in the opening 10 minutes and scoring with a deft shot, which set off the prelude to Tottenham's goal performance. I have to say that Zhang Linyan has made a good start for her journey to the UK with her good personal technical ability and adaptability.
After the match, Tottenham Hotspur Women will travel to Brighton Onion Women in the third round of the Premier League on 15 October. It is worth noting that Li Mengwen, another Chinese women's international who plays for Brighton Women, also started and played the full match in the Women's FA Cup group stage, helping the team to a 3-0 victory over Birmingham City Women. If both Chinese women's international players can play in the match on the 15th, then the women's Premier League will have the opportunity to stage the "Chinese derby" for the first time. Such a scenario is also worth looking forward to.
According to the reporter of Beijing Youth Daily, Zhang Linyan will leave for China as soon as the evening local time after playing the fourth round of the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur Women's football on the afternoon of the 22nd local time, and then meet with the Chinese women's football team that is preparing in Xiamen to prepare for the second stage of the Paris Olympic preliminaries.
Text/Beiqing Sports Xiao Zhao