Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Zheng to complete move to Celtic

Zheng Zhi
Zheng left Charlton Athletic when his contract expired in June

China captain Zheng Zhi will arrive in Scotland this week to complete his move to Glasgow giants Celtic.

The 29-year-old defender, who can also play in midfield, left English League One side Charlton when his contract expired in June.

He was granted a work permit earlier this month but will not play in Celtic's Europa League group games as he failed to make the signing deadline.

Zheng decided to leave Charlton because he did not want to play in League One.

He became the first Chinese player to represent the Addicks when he played 12 games on loan for the club in the Premier League in 2006/07.

After signing a permanent deal from Shandong Luneng for an initial £1.25m, he scored nine goals in Charlton's first campaign in the Championship.

Celtic manager Tony Mowbray will likely aim to utilise Zheng as defensive cover after Darren O'Dea joined Reading on loan and also gives the option of cover for Massimo Donati who moved permanently to Bari in the summer transfer window.

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