'I am very pleased that Manchester United have recognised Dong's ability as he is a very talented player,' said Zhu.
'I know that he is capable of performing at a high level and it would be a great honour for him to play for Manchester United in the English Premier League.
'However, our government does not allow dual nationality and since Dong is an important member of the team that we are preparing for the 2008 Olympics, I don't think that he would give up his Chinese nationality in order to get a passport in
This may cause some future problems for the player as Fergie was hoping to bring him over from
'Dong qualifies for his European passport in December and that is good news for us,'
'He has played four times for
'He has the speed and physicality and his technique is improving all the time.
'He has improved a lot but we expect that and he has to continue it if he wants to be a player.'
No doubt this will go down well with United's Chinese fans if the club make him change nationality.