Chen Jinyi: With a surprise "going north", I met a better self in Shenhua

Special correspondent Gan Hui reports On June 17, 2024, Shenhua Club announced that Chen Jinyi had joined. At that time, people didn't know much about the player. If Chen Jinyi was still a "potential stock" when he joined Shenhua a year ago, a year later he has begun to realize his potential, and his value has risen from 300,000 euros to 450,000 euros.

In the middle of the 2024 season, due to Cui Lin's long-term injury absence, Shenhua's left wing-back once became one of the most unstable positions in the team, with Yang Zexiang and midfielder Xu Haoyang both making cameo appearances. Xu Haoyang and Yang Zexiang are both internationals and have good individual abilities, but left wing-back is not their best position after all. Yang Zexiang is right-footed, and it is more awkward to play on the left, especially when crossing from the bottom. Although Xu Haoyang is a left-footed player, he has always played in the midfield, and he is not familiar with the position of fullback.

In order to make up for the shortcomings of the left wing-back, Shenhua threw an olive branch to Chen Jinyi. When he heard that it was Shanghai Shenhua who was interested in introducing him, he repeatedly confirmed the "authenticity" of the news. In Chen Jinyi's view, Shanghai Shenhua is one of the biggest clubs in China, with many international players in the team. Being able to be favored by Shenhua is an affirmation of oneself. And this affirmation has also become a strong impetus for Chen Jinyi's rapid progress in the past year. After getting an affirmative answer, Chen Jinyi made an appointment with his friend and celebrated.

With surprise and longing, Chen Jinyi embarked on the road to the north. Coming to Shanghai from Hong Kong, he experienced a short adaptation process.

Slutsky's training was close to actual combat, intense and fast-paced. At first, Chen Jinyi couldn't keep up. Slutsky will not play players who do not meet the training requirements. Therefore, for about a month after joining Shenhua, Chen Jinyi was a spectator on the bench. In an interview with Hong Kong media, Chen Jinyi once said: "When I first joined Shenhua, it was difficult to keep up with the team's training rhythm, so I had self-doubts and felt that it was the right decision to accept Shenhua's invitation in the first place. ”

There were doubts and hesitations, but they were short-lived. In the face of difficulties, Chen Jinyi did not flinch. He put in more effort than ever before to keep up with the pace and intensity of Shenhua's training. The coaching staff also helped him "make up lessons" and explain the team's tactical requirements. "It's really tiring, but it's all here." Chen Jinyi said.

Life is like this, break through the bottleneck, you will meet a better self. On July 13, 2024, Shenhua played Changchun Yatai at home, and Chen Jinyi came on as a substitute in the 80th minute to complete his debut after joining Shenhua. On August 10, 2024, in Shenhua's home match with Nantong Zhiyun, substitute Chen Jinyi scored a world wave, which was also his first goal after joining Shenhua. On August 17, 2024, Shanghai Shenhua played Shanghai Port at home, which was considered a key battle related to the title race, and Slutsky arranged Chen Jinyi to start. Obviously, the latter has already won the approval of the head coach.

Before the start of the 2025 season, Shenhua prepared for winter training in Haikou, and Chen Jinyi participated in Slutsky's winter training for the first time. For the winter training, he was deeply touched: "The training intensity is really large. During the winter training, Chen Jinyi realized what it was to be tired and happy. After a day of intense training, he was often so tired that he lay on the bed and didn't want to move, but his heart was very full. "After the start of the season, you can pay attention to Chen Jinyi, after the winter training, he has improved a lot." During the interview in Haikou, many team insiders mentioned Chen Jinyi to reporters.

Chen Jinyi, who was born in 2002, is currently only 22 years old. Being young means limitless possibilities. In the new season, Chen Jinyi has become the absolute main force in Slutsky's mind. Except for the injury and absence, the other games basically played the whole game. In the AFC Champions League elite league match against Vissel Kobe on February 8, Chan's shot from inside the box was reflected into the net, which was the first AFC Champions League goal of Chen's career, and he also became the first Hong Kong player to score in the AFC Champions League elite league.

This season, Chen Jinyi has shown good attacking power, the left side has become an important offensive corridor for Shenhua, scoring 1 goal and contributing 4 assists in the league so far, at the same time, Chen Jinyi's defense has also improved a lot compared to when he first joined Shenhua, and his sense of position is obviously much stronger. It is understood that in addition to the team's daily training, Chen Jinyi always adds meals to himself - practicing defense, crosses and set-pieces. In the home game against Qingdao Manatee this season, Chen Jin took one or two high-quality corner kicks and assisted his teammates to score.

Less than a year after joining Shenhua, Chen Jinyi proved his ability with his performance, and also effectively strengthened Shenhua's "short board" left fullback in recent years.