Tahith Chong

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Tahith Chong
Tahith Chong (38487929362).jpg
Chong playing for Manchester United U18s in November 2017
Personal information
Full name Tahith Chong[1]
Date of birth (1999-12-04) 4 December 1999 (age 22)
Place of birth Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Birmingham City
(on loan from Manchester United)
Number 7
Youth career
2009–2016 Feyenoord
2016–2018 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018– Manchester United 5 (0)
2020–2021 → Werder Bremen (loan) 13 (0)
2021 → Club Brugge (loan) 10 (0)
2021– → Birmingham City (loan) 18 (1)
National team‡
2013–2014 Netherlands U15 4 (1)
2014–2015 Netherlands U16 11 (1)
2015–2016 Netherlands U17 16 (2)
2016–2017 Netherlands U19 7 (0)
2018 Netherlands U20 4 (1)
2018–2019 Netherlands U21 6 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:02, 19 March 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:46, 12 September 2020 (UTC)

Tahith Chong (born 4 December 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL Championship club Birmingham City, on loan from Premier League club Manchester United.

Chong joined the Manchester United Academy aged 16, after progressing through the Feyenoord youth system. He has won both the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year and Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year awards at United. He made his professional debut in 2019 in an FA Cup game against Reading. In August 2020, he joined Werder Bremen on a season-long loan, which was cut short in January 2021 to facilitate a loan move to Club Brugge.

He has played for the Netherlands national team from under-15 to under-21 level.

Early life[]

Chong was born in Willemstad, Curaçao which was then part of the Netherlands Antilles. He is of African and Chinese descent.[3] He later moved to Rotterdam, Netherlands, in order to pursue a move to a professional club. Upon completing a move to Manchester United, Chong's parents also moved to England.[4]

Club career[]

Early career[]

Chong joined the youth ranks of Eredivisie club Feyenoord aged 10, and had attracted interest from several Premier League clubs by the age of 16.[5] In September 2014, Chong took part in the Manchester Premier Cup at the Carrington Training Ground, where he was spotted by Manchester United scouts.[6] In early 2016, Chong was on the verge of joining Chelsea.[7]

Manchester United[]

Youth[]

In April 2016, Chong announced that he was to join Manchester United after Feyenoord failed to "make a plan" for him.[8] The transfer was made official three months later upon receiving international clearance.[9] Initially linking up with the Under-18s, Chong scored his club's only goal of their 2016–17 FA Youth Cup campaign as they suffered a third round exit to Southampton.[10] The following month, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a cruciate ligament injury.[11] Making his return 10 months later for the Under-23s, Chong went on to be named the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year in May 2018.[12]

Senior[]

In July 2018, Chong was called up to the first team for their pre-season tour in the United States. In their opening game, he featured as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw against Club América, followed by starting in their goalless draw against the San Jose Earthquakes.[13][14] On 23 October, he was named as an unused substitute for the first time in United's 1–0 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League.[15] Following the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjær as caretaker manager, Chong made his competitive debut replacing Juan Mata in a 2–0 FA Cup victory against Reading on 5 January.[16] At the end of the season, he was named the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year award, becaming the first player since Giuseppe Rossi to win the award the year after being named the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year.[17] On 9 March 2020, Chong signed a new contract to keep him at the club until 2022, with the option to extend a further year.[18]

Werder Bremen and Club Brugge loans[]

On 16 August 2020, Chong joined Bundesliga club Werder Bremen on a season-long loan.[19][20] On 12 September, he scored his first goal in his first competitive match for Werder Bremen against FC Carl Zeiss Jena in the DFB-Pokal.[21] Chong's loan was cut short in January 2021.[22] Chong joined Belgian First Division A club Club Brugge on loan on 30 January,[23] and scored on his debut four days later in a Belgian Cup game against Olsa Brakel.[24]

Birmingham City (loan)[]

On 9 July 2021, Chong joined Birmingham City on a season-long loan.[25] However, he spent pre-season ahead of the 2021–22 campaign at his parent club, and joined Birmingham in time for the start of the Championship season.[26] On 7 August, Chong made his debut for Birmingham in a 1–0 win over Sheffield United.[27] On 21 August, Chong made two assists in a 5–0 win over Luton Town.[28]

On 2 November 2021, Chong returned to Manchester United for his rehabilitation following surgery on a serious groin injury.[29] He returned to Birmingham in February 2022, and two minutes into his first start after his return, away to Bristol City, he opened the scoring in a 2–1 win.[30]

International career[]

Chong represented the Dutch national team at the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and scored the only goal in the quarter-final victory against Sweden.[31]

In June 2021, Chong accepted a call-up to the Curaçao national football team for their 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup preliminary squad.[32] However, he was not included in the final squad, which subsequently withdrew from the tournament due to an outbreak of COVID-19.[33]

Career statistics[]

As of match played 19 March 2022[34]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 2018–19 Premier League 2 0 1 0 0 0 1[c] 0 — 4 0
2019–20 Premier League 3 0 2 0 1 0 6[d] 0 — 12 0
2020–21 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2021–22 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 5 0 3 0 1 0 7 0 — 16 0
Manchester United U21 2019–20 — — — — — 4[e] 2 4 2
Werder Bremen (loan) 2020–21 Bundesliga 13 0 2 1 — — — 15 1
Club Brugge (loan) 2020–21 Belgian First Division A 10 0 3 1 — 0 0 — 13 1
Birmingham City (loan) 2021–22 Championship 18 1 0 0 0 0 — — 18 1
Career total 46 1 8 2 1 0 7 0 4 2 66 5
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup, DFB-Pokal and Belgian Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearance in UEFA Champions League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours[]

Club[]

Club Brugge

Individual[]

  • UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2016[36]
  • Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 2017–18[37]
  • Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year: 2018–19[38]
  • Premier League 2 Player of the Month: December 2019[39]

References[]

  1. ^ "2019/20 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Tahith Chong Profile, News & Stats". Premier League. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Manchester United gets zero on demand: "I just want to stay at Feyenoord"". Voetbal Primeur (in Dutch). 26 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  4. ^ Bird, Jeorge (24 June 2016). "Chong confirms his parents will move to England once he joins Man United". Squawka. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Sixteen-year-old Feyenoord wonderkid confirms Manchester United move". The 42. TheJournal.ie. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  6. ^ "How Manchester United beat Chelsea to the signing of Tahith Chong". 10 January 2019.
  7. ^ Burton, Chris (11 January 2019). "Revealed: How Man Utd snatched Chong from under the nose of Chelsea". Goal.com. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  8. ^ Dixon, James (28 April 2016). "Feyenoord starlet Tahith Chong confirms Manchester United move". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Tahith Chong". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  10. ^ Olver, Tom (12 December 2016). "Tahith Chong scores incredible goal for Manchester United against Southampton in FA Youth Cup". The Metro. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  11. ^ Mathieson, Stuart (30 January 2017). "Manchester United starlet Tahith Chong is hit with serious injury setback". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  12. ^ Marshall, Adam (1 May 2018). "Tahith Chong wins Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award for 2017/18". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  13. ^ Thompson, Gemma (20 July 2018). "Tour 2018 Match Report: United 1 Club America 1". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  14. ^ Thompson, Gemma (23 July 2018). "Tour 2018 Match Report: San Jose Earthquakes 0 United 0". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  15. ^ Bevan, Chris (23 October 2018). "Manchester United 0–1 Juventus". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  16. ^ Davis, Matt (5 January 2019). "Manchester United 2–0 Reading". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  17. ^ Marshall, Adam (9 May 2019). "Tahith Chong voted Under-23s Player of the Year". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Tahith Chong signs new contract with Man Utd". Manchester United. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  19. ^ Bostock, Adam (16 August 2020). "United confirm loan move for youngster". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  20. ^ "Manchester United's Tahith Chong completes loan to Werder Bremen". The Guardian. 16 August 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Sargent eröffnet, Chongs Premiere: Werder in Runde zwei". kicker (in German). Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  22. ^ SV Werder Bremen EN [@werderbremen_en] (30 January 2021). "i️ @TahithC has ended his loan spell early and will leave SV #Werder Bremen. Thank you for all of your contributions and good luck for the future, Tahith!