Heard this one before? The tale about the Chinese footballer going to play for Celtic? I know, it’s kind of an old one right… Hang on a minute, it has happened again. Five years on from Shanghai Shenhua’s Du Wei (read our interview with him right here) signing for Celtic in what was quite possibly the worst overseas signing ever (he was there for only half a year, played a massive total of 45 minutes in a Cup game against lower league Clyde, was subbed at half time and never appeared again), Celtic have gone Chinese again, this time whipping up China’s former national team captain Zheng Zhi.

Now Zheng Zhi is hardly another Du Wei (although Du Wei may be the new Zheng Zhi after being appointed the national team captain last year). Having spent the last couple of years at Charlton Athletic in London, bagging 9 goals in 55 matches, Zheng is a real talent. A energetic midfielder who gets around the park, Zheng has proved quite popular in England, but he’s not exactly setting the world on fire.

So what’s his signing all about? Now that Celtic’s Japanese star Shunsuke Nakamura has left for pastures new in Spain with Espanyol, it seems Celtic are keen to maintain Asian interest with not just the signing of Zheng, but also promising young Korean Ki Sung-yong. Call me cynical, but are Celtic really signing Zheng for footballing reasons or for a marketing ploy? You can’t blame them. Scottish football is dying. And dying fast. The big TV deal went under last year and all the clubs are scratching around for money. So it’s not a surprise.

And manager Tony Mowbray reckons it is all about the football, “Zheng Zhi is a player I have tracked for some time, a highly-regarded player and was a thorn in our side when he played against us [for Charlton] at West Bromwich Albion. I am delighted he can join us. He will significantly add to the squad with his quality and the fact he can play in a number of positions.”

Currently there are only two Chinese football players in Europe, Zheng and Zhou Haibin who is on the books of PSV Eindhoven. But Zhou is yet to play a game. Hmmm.  Oh yeah, and China failed miserably to qualify for the World Cup next year. North Korea did though. The future’s not exactly bright right now for Chinese football.

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