ESPN praises Zhu Chenjie: 18-year-old debut, sooner or later he will go to Europe

On January 12, the Asian Cup officially started, and the opening match was Qatar VS Lebanon. One day later, the Chinese men's football team played against Tajikistan. In world football, the Asian Cup has also received a lot of attention. On January 12, ESPN counted the "5 non-European league players worth paying attention to in the Asian Cup", and Zhu Chenjie, a post-00 generation in China, was on the list.

In the Asian Cup, there are many famous stars who have made a name for themselves in European football, such as South Korea's Son Heung-min, Lee Gang-in, Kim Min-jae, and Japan's Kaoru Mikasa, Hisashi Hisashi, Takumi Minamino, etc. The five people counted by ESPN are players who have not landed in Europe, but are worth seeing.

Zhu Chenjie is on the list. Let's take a look at ESPN's review:

Zhu Chenjie, a 6-foot (1.83m) centre-back, is one of the most promising talents in Chinese football. In 2018, before the age of 18, Zhu Chenjie made his debut for Shanghai Shenhua and made club history. A month later, Zhu Chenjie became the youngest player to score in the history of Shanghai Shenhua.

Zhu Chenjie became the main player at the age of 18, made 30 appearances in the 2019 season, won the Chinese Football Association Cup twice in Shanghai Shenhua, and was also crowned the best newcomer award of the Chinese Football Association and was selected into the best team of the Chinese Super League.

In Shanghai Shenhua, Zhu Chenjie often wears the captain's armband. In the 2023 Chinese Super League, Zhu Chenjie made 23 starts. In 2019, Zhu Chenjie, who was only 18 years old, made his debut for the Chinese men's football team, and has made 23 appearances for the national football team so far, scoring 1 goal.

对于朱辰杰，ESPN给出总结——23岁的国足中卫，去欧洲踢球只是时间问题（ It is only a matter of time before China center-back Zhu Chenjie, 23, moves to Europe）。

In the green and yellow Chinese football world, Zhu Chenjie is a rare bright spot. On the list of active players in the Asian Cup of the National Football Team, there is only one post-00 player: Zhu Chenjie scored 1 goal. Zhu Chenjie's value is 600,000 euros, although it is not worth mentioning compared with big-name stars, but it can rank fourth in the Chinese men's football team, only behind Wu Lei (1.5 million euros), Jiang Guangtai (700,000 euros), and Jiang Shenglong (700,000 euros).