Following Shen Monroe's joining Bundesliga mid-table team Leverkusen Women's Soccer
Shen Mengyu
It was officially announced on August 2 that he was joining Championship
City of London Lioness Club
. This decision was evaluated by Soccer Daily as a pragmatic move for Chinese women's soccer players to stay abroad.
Among the Chinese women's soccer players who stayed abroad, Shen Mengyu and Shen Menglu chose relatively different paths. With many players choosing to return to their home countries, Shen Mengyu has chosen the Championship as a more pragmatic option, hoping to pave the way for a future impact on the Women's Premier League through stable play.
The Women's Championship is the second tier of women's football in England, established in 2014, with 11 clubs currently competing. Shen Mengyu joined the City of London Lionesses FC was established in 2019, which is an independent women's soccer club separated from Millwall FC. Despite the team's poor performance last season, ranking only 8th, the overall performance is still in the middle of the upper reaches.
London City Lionesses have as many as 12 foreigners in their team, and Shen Mengyu is the only Asian foreigner at the moment. It is worth noting that the City of London Lionesses were purchased last year by Korean-American businesswoman Michele Kang. Ms. Kang, a well-known investor in women's professional soccer who has acquired Washington Spirit FC and French women's soccer powerhouse Lyon Ladies, is aiming to elevate the City of London Lionesses to the Women's Premier League and rival the top teams in the English capital.
French manager Pouhaiset, who coached Jiangsu Suning and Meizhou Hakka women's soccer team in China Women's Super League, is very familiar with Shen Mengyu. He fully affirmed Shen Mengyu's ability, believing that she can play the No. 6 and No. 8 positions and fight for more playing time in the team, laying the foundation for the future road to the top league.
Chinese women's soccer want to narrow the gap with Japan and South Korea women's soccer, stay in the ocean is still an effective way. Shen Menglu and Wang Yanwen's recent choices to join the middle and lower reaches of the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, and Shen Mengyu's choice of the Championship's London City Lions, are all considered to be more rational choices at this stage. By gaining more game experience and playing time in these teams, it will help to improve their strength and ultimately realize the goal of entering the top league.
