Yu Jinyong

Yu Jinyong (born 6 July 2004) is a Chinese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan, and the China under-23 national team.

Club career
Yu Jinyong was born on 6 July 2004 in Shenyang, Liaoning, and went through the Shandong Taishan youth academy.

In 2021, as a 16-year-old, Yu Jinyong was named in Shandong Taishan's 35-man squad for the upcoming 2021 Chinese Super League season. He failed to make a single appearance during the season, but followed the team to a Chinese Super League title, the club's first in eleven years.

In August 2023, Yu Jinyong went on trial to Belgian club Royal Charleroi under the recommendation of then-teammate Marouane Fellaini, who dubbed him as a "little Courtois", but he had since returned to China.

International career
Yu Jinyong was part of the China U20 squad that competed in the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup, where his role had been a back-up goalkeeper.

On 5 April 2024, he was named in China's final squad of the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup. On 16 April 2024, in China's first group stage match against Japan, he came on as a substitute for Duan Dezhi in the 88th minute of the game, as a striker. In a post-match interview, China U23 head coach Cheng Yaodong claimed that the substitution had previously been envisioned in his tactics.

Personal life
Yu Jinyong was born to his father Yu Ming, a former Liaoning and Chinese international footballer, and his mother, Hu Jie, a Chinese former volleyball player.

Honours
Shandong Taishan
 * Chinese Super League: 2021