Red Star Belgrade Football Club president Svetozar Mijailovic (L), Chinese player Wan Xiang (C), and the club's academy director Nikola Jelic attend the signing ceremony in Belgrade, Serbia, Feb. 14, 2026. (Photo by Wang Wei/Xinhua)

BELGRADE, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Serbian champion Red Star Belgrade officially unveiled 16-year-old Chinese midfielder Wan Xiang at the Rajko Mitic Stadium on Saturday, a move club officials described as securing "the most talented player to appear in China in decades."

Wan, an attacking midfielder, joins the Belgrade giant following a breakout performance in the U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers, where he scored five goals in five matches for the Chinese national youth team. He will initially join Red Star's youth academy, renowned for generating over 70 million euros in player sales over the last two years.

"Our domestic framework has become too small for our ambitions," said Nikola Jelic, Red Star's Academy Director. "Red Star is the largest club in Eastern Europe and must follow global trends. We are opening the Asian market with Wan, who is, by our assessment, the most talented player to emerge from China in the last 20 to 30 years."

Wan is already familiar with Serbian football, having spent two months at the Duljaj Football Academy in Topola prior to this move. Speaking at his unveiling, the teenager highlighted the contrast between domestic and European play.

"European football focuses much more on physical confrontation," Wan said. "The training here brings pressure and aggressiveness that is different from back home. I believe the speed of my improvement here will be faster."

"I feel he might be over-praising me," Wan said. "I am definitely not the best in China yet. I will just work hard to become the best. My focus now is to integrate, learn the Serbian language, and treat every training session seriously."

Wan will begin training immediately with Red Star's cadet (U-17) selection. ■

Red Star Belgrade Football Club president Svetozar Mijailovic (L), Chinese player Wan Xiang (C), and the club's academy director Nikola Jelic attend the signing ceremony in Belgrade, Serbia, Feb. 14, 2026. (Photo by Wang Wei/Xinhua)