Zheng back to China with future uncertain

BEIJING, May 14 - China captain Zheng Zhi, who is preparing to head home after his loan spell in England with Charlton Athletic, says his long-term future is in the hands of his club Shandong Luneng.

Zheng was loaned to Charlton by the Chinese champions in January and impressed in 12 appearances during what ultimately proved to be a fruitless battle against relegation from the Premier League.

Charlton had an option on a permanent deal for the 26-year-old, who missed a hat-trick of chances in Sunday's 2-2 draw at Liverpool, but Zheng was quoted last month as saying he would leave the Valley if the Londoners went down.

"Frankly speaking I have no idea about my future," the versatile midfielder told Monday's Titan Sport.

"What I can do at the moment is collect all the things here and go back to Shandong Luneng... All I can say is everything in England has come to a full stop.

"I was loaned by Luneng. What I do and where I go next should be decided by the club."

Zheng, who was voted Charlton's player of the month in March, said whatever happened he would never forget his time in South London.

"In my opinion, the Premier League is the toughest league in the world," he added.

"I will miss the days in Charlton. This experience was the most unforgettable of my life. I still have my dreams and the ability to carry out these dreams, so I have no regrets."

The Chinese Super League (CSL) season is only 10 matches old but Zheng is likely to restrict his appearances for Shandong to the East Asian Champions (A3) Cup from June 7-13 before China's Asian Cup finals campaign starts in July.

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