At the age of 21, China Women's Super League striker Zhang Linyan, who now plays for the powerful Wuhan Chegu Jiangda Women's Football Club, has already scored six goals in the first 10 rounds of the season, making her second on the list of local top scorers with her outstanding performance.
Zhang Linyan has not only been a member of the National Youth Women's Football Team at all levels, but is also a member of the current Chinese Women's National Football Team, which she has represented in seven matches so far. Earlier this year, she won the Asian Cup with the Chinese women's soccer team and scored her first goal for the national team in the final, for which she was awarded the 2022 Asian Cup Best Young Player Award.
Meanwhile, Zhang Linyan's Grasshopper women's soccer team is battling it out in Switzerland's top league, having managed to reach the playoff semifinals and take second place in the Swiss Cup last season.
Speaking about joining Grasshopper Women's Football Club, Zhang Linyan said, "I am very excited to join Grasshopper Women's Football Club. I will cherish the opportunity to play in Switzerland and train hard to improve my soccer skills and experience the European soccer culture and professional standards. I would like to express my special thanks to Wuhan JDU Women's Football Club for their great support for my overseas development, and I expect that during my loan period with Grasshopper Women's Football Club, I will continue to grow and contribute to a better return to Chinese women's football in the future."
Chang Weiwei, head coach of Wuhan Women's Football Team, commented on Zhang Linyan: "Zhang Linyan is an extremely gifted young talent who, after joining the Wuhan JDU Women's Football Team at the beginning of the 2022 season, has shown excellent adaptability and the ability to finish off matches, and has contributed to the Wuhan Women's Football Team's 10 consecutive victories. The Wuhan Sports Bureau and Wuhan JDU FC will fully support Zhang Linyan's journey to Europe to pursue her dreams and look forward to her rapid integration into the Grasshopper Women's Football Team and her brilliant success in Europe."
