Newcastle Jets CEO Lawrie McKinna has confirmed the club will aim to add a Chinese “development” player – potentially on loan – to their Hyundai A-League roster for the 2016/17 Season.
The Jets were purchased by Chinese company the Ledman Group in May and Chairman Martin Lee has been working feverishly to promote the club and generate business interest in his homeland.
Lee, McKinna and former Jets and Beijing Guoan striker Joel Griffiths conducted a whirlwind tour of China last week with FFA CEO David Gallop also part of the trip.
It generated significant media interest as the club outlined the Jets’ ambitions for the Chinese market.
And part of the strategy is to use one of the club’s two remaining visa positions to recruit a Chinese player, with the Jets hopeful of trialing a number of players before making a decision.
“To get support from the Chinese market, he needs a player from China on the roster,” McKinna told the Newcastle Herald, referring to owner Martin Lee’s plans.
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“We are looking to get a couple of players out here to train for a couple of weeks in August.
“We have to make sure they can adapt. Firstly, they need to be able to play and they also need to handle being here.”
The Jets previously had a Chinese player as part of their squad back in 2010/11, with striker Zhang Shuo playing eight games for the club, netting a single goal.
McKinna hinted that the player is likely to be a youngster but insisted they would need to be capable of pushing for a spot in the Jets’ first XI.
“He needs to be able to play a part in the team this year,” McKinna said.
“There is no good just signing someone for the sake of it. He has to be good enough to compete for a position.”
In other news, Newcastle will play a Northern NSW NPL select side on July 20 before tackling Melbourne Victory in the Westfield FFA Cup on August 3.
