With the deepening of the Chinese Super League, there are more and more discussions about naturalization, and many players with naturalization conditions have performed well, making them a hotly debated naturalization target among fans. Among them, Cangzhou Lions' foreign aid Oscar, and Chengdu Rongcheng's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan domestic aid Zhou Dingyang are the two players with the highest call for naturalization. Oscar excelled on the offensive end, and his explosiveness and age of only 24 years are his main strengths. And Zhou Dingyang's performance on the defensive end is the type that the national football team needs the most at present, and his performance in the 4 rounds of the Chinese Super League is much better than all local players.
Some domestic media said that now the Football Association has begun to study the naturalization of Zhou Dingyang, Zhou Dingyang's situation is more complicated, but his ability can indeed make up for the shortcomings of the national football team. Zhou Dingyang has been playing in the Chinese Super League for several years, ranking among the best in defensive data such as interception and clearance, and this season's 4 rounds of the Chinese Super League, 3 rounds of Zhou Dingyang can reach the top of the running list, and the current single running distance of the Chinese Super League is also a record created by Zhou Dingyang. These conditions happen to be the requirements of the national football team's single midfielder, and no local player can do this job well.
However, some media published an article for analysis, pouring cold water on the naturalized Zhou Dingyang, because among the naturalization conditions of FIFA, Zhou Dingyang did not meet one of them. Zhou Dingyang actually meets most of the conditions, not only is he of Chinese descent within three generations, but he has been serving in China for 5 years, whether he is unrelated or naturalized, he meets the conditions. But there is one condition that he does not support, and that is that he cannot represent other regional teams in international competitions after the age of 21. Zhou Dingyang previously represented the Chinese Taipei team in 2019 and played a World Preliminary Asian Top 40 match.
I don't know if there is room for this condition to turn around, because the Football Association hopes to get the help of the Chinese Taipei Football Association, and if the other party agrees to change the membership, then it can be regarded as a certain amount of support from FIFA. However, there is another thorny problem, that is, Zhou Dingyang was registered by the FA at the beginning, and then transferred his membership to Chinese Taipei, if he is naturalized by the national football team, then he will have to change his membership again. FIFA will not agree to such a thing as changing the membership twice, because there have been many precedents before, and FIFA has not agreed to it.
Unless you get the help of the Chinese Taipei Football Association this time, and FIFA gives you the green light, you don't want to naturalize Zhou Dingyang. If it takes so much effort just to naturalize a Chinese Super League player, such a cost-effective ratio is debatable. And the player's personal wishes are not clear now, Zhou Dingyang hopes to return to the UK to live in the future, so whether he himself is willing to naturalize is also a question. Of course, as fans, we still hope to be able to complete the naturalization, because his role is too big for the national football team.