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'After Sun Jihai, more and more Chinese players can play in Europe's top leagues'

Teenage striker Dong Fangzhou's transfer to Manchester United is a sign of the rapid development of the game on the mainland, seven-time Chinese champions Dalian Shide claimed yesterday .

The 18-year-old has been sold for an initial fee reported to be GBP500,000 ($7.2 million) - whichcould rise to GBP3.5 million depending on the number of appearances he makes - to Belgian side Royal Antwerp, who United use as a feeder club to get around the stringent British rules on work permits for non-European Union footballers.

Dong follows another former Dalian player, Manchester City's Sun Jihai, into Europe.

'For Chinese football it shows the improvements and progress we have made,' said Dalian general manager Lin Lefeng. 'After Sun Jihai, more and more Chinese players can play in Europe's top leagues. Now it's Dong.

'If we could send 10 players from Dalian to top leagues the quality of the Chinese national team would become very high. If we had 20 Chinese players like Sun and Dong we believe we would soon be able to beat Korea and Japan. We could find a position at the top of world football.'

Dong is still a long way from Old Trafford. Unless United can get a special dispensation from the British Home Office, the teenager would not be able to get a work permit to join the Premiership leaders until he has established himself as a regular full international.  The striker, Dalian-born and bred, only broke into the first team at his hometown club last year and has represented China only at under-17 and under-19 levels.

However, Lin's assistant at Dalian, Thomas Liu Rentie, believes that for the sake of the youngster's development they had to let him move to Europe. 'Dalian built up Dong, but we have limits,' Liu said. 'To make him stronger and better only the top leagues could really help him. Compared to them Chinese football is still only a baby.

'I think it's a good thing for Chinese football. It is good that Dong Fangzhou has set a very good example for young players in China. Dong is their tomorrow. If they think that by working hard like him they can succeed like him then it will be good for Chinese football. Chinese football should give us a present - we're helping show Chinese football to the world.'

United have increasingly been using Royal Antwerp as a proving ground for young players that UK regulations would otherwise prevent them from signing. Qatari striker Yasser Hussein made the step to United's Belgian satellite in 2002, following the footsteps of Korea's Seol Ki-hyeon, now playing for Anderlecht, but who joined Antwerp in 2000.

The deals, however, contrast sharply with the scramble among Europe's top clubs to acquire Asian players primarily to improve their profile in the continent and to increase revenue through sales of TV coverage and merchandise.

'I must admit there must be some relation between United wanting me and the club's aim to break into Asia, but I still have confidence in my ability and I am certain that that played a big part in the club wanting to sign me,' Dong told the mainland media.



Dong deal a symbol of our progress, says Dalian boss