Hou Yu (footballer, born 2001)

Hou Yu (born 31 January 2001) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains China League One club Guangzhou FC.

Club career
Yu played for the Guangzhou youth team before being promoted and loaned out to the China U-19 team who were allowed to participate in the Chinese pyramid in the 2020 China League Two campaign. The following campaign he was loaned out again, this time to the China U-20 team who were allowed to participate in the Chinese pyramid in the 2021 China League Two campaign. Before the 2021 Chinese Super League campaign ended, he returned to Guangzhou where he made his senior debut for the team in a league game on 13 December 2021 against Beijing Guoan F.C. in a 1-0 defeat.

In the 2022 Chinese Super League with Guangzhou he went on to establish himself as a regular within the club. However, the majority shareholder of the club experienced financial trouble and Guangzhou started to lose several key players. The team was then relegated from the top tier, ending their twelve-season stay in the top flight. Yu remained with the team and go on to establish himself as a regular within the club as he helped guide them to a twelfth placed finish.

Career statistics
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