West Brom are set to cut their losses on Zhang Yuning, with the Chinese striker set to complete a move back to his come country having failed to make a single appearance for the Baggies, according to the Express and Star.
The 22-year-old was confirmed to have been released from his loan spell at ADO Den Haag and the newspaper’s report states that talks are underway with a Chinese side over a permanent exit from the Hawthorns.
? NIEUWS | De wegen van ADO Den Haag en Yuning Zhang scheiden per direct.
? "We hadden hem nog graag topfit en vol vertrouwen aan het werk gezien. Het is erg jammer dat dit niet echt gebeurd is.”
Lees meer ? https://t.co/BgsLNioby5 pic.twitter.com/7qmxVJuzuU
— ADO Den Haag (@ADODenHaag) February 22, 2019
Zhang was signed from Vitesse Arnhem for £6million but was ineligible to play for Albion due to work permit issues and spent time out at Den Haag and Bundesliga side Werder Bremen.
OPINION
This has been an embarrassing episode for West Brom from start to finish. The Chinese forward was never going to be able to represent the Baggies due to China’s FIFA world ranking, and so it was always something of a gamble to bring him Zhang in on the off chance that his country suddenly rocketed up the table. £6 million is a significant outlay for any player, especially one that isn’t eligible to wear the shirt, and it showed a bizarre lack of logic from the club’s owners. The only saving grace for the Baggies is that owner Guochan Lai decided to foot the entirety of the transfer bill and the player’s wages out of his own pocket, meaning that the club have not been stung by this as badly as they could have been.