Celtic awaits UK work permit to sign Zheng Zhi

September 02 2009 by Rebekah Nahai

Zheng Zhi waiting on UK work permit

Scottish soccer club Celtic is waiting on a UK work permit in order to sign the China soccer captain, Zheng Zhi.

Midfielder Zheng, 29, was released by Charlton at the end of last season. Thus the move is not governed by the transfer window, which closed yesterday.

Celtic manager Tony Mowbray expressed his hope that Zheng’s UK visa would be approved.

"Zheng Zhi is a player I have tracked for some time," he said. "He is a highly regarded player and was a thorn in our side when he played against us at West Bromwich Albion.

“I am delighted he may join us. He will significantly add to the squad with his quality and the fact he can play in a number of positions. We now need to tie up loose ends and obtain a [UK] work permit, which we hope to do before our next game."

Mowbray had attempted to sign Zheng last summer for West Bromwich Albion. Zheng established his reputation as a central midfielder when he secured a UK visa to join Charlton in December 2006 from Shenzhen Jianlibao. He scored nine goals in 63 games for the club.

Zheng has played every position apart from goalkeeper during his long international soccer career. Before joining the British club, he was twice named China's player of the year.

A report in The Scotsman said Celtic have offered Zheng a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee. Following the approval of his UK work permit, Zheng will become the second Chinese player to join Celtic.

The first was defender Du Wei, who played just 45 minutes of a Scottish Cup game at Clyde in 2006 before going back to Shanghai.

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