Wayne Rooney warned to do his research before moving to China by the only Englishman in the league Jack Sealy
Jack Sealy, the only Englishman in the Chinese Super League, tells striker to do his homework ahead of potential Far East move
JACK SEALY has told Wayne Rooney: Do your homework before signing.
Sealy, 29, is the only English player currently in the Chinese Super League.
He plays for Changchun Yatai - an outpost in the north of the country.
Keep up to date with ALL the MANCHESTER UNITED news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
Beijing Guoan, Hebei China Fortune, Jiangsu Suning or Tianjin Quanjian are the most likely destinations for Roo.
And defender-midfielder Sealy told SunSport: “It’s vital Wayne does his research and I don’t just mean Google. He should come and check the place out before putting pen to paper — otherwise he might regret it.
related stories
“China is not like Manchester. He will be hard pressed to find any similarities here. The culture is different, the food is different, the people are different and the football is different. He should be prepared for that and it’s vital he keeps an open mind.
“My simple advice to Wayne would be to stick to a club that is near or in the southern cities of Shanghai, Beijing or Guangzhou. These places are modern, developed and have an international population.
“But if he was to stray up to my city, Changchun, or go somewhere like Yanbian, he might not like it and want to come home after a few months.
“He will struggle to find many people who speak English and won’t find too many of the creature comforts he’s used to.”
Although the China Super League continues to spend huge amounts of cash, Sealy says it is nowhere near as professional as the Premier League in terms of fitness levels, conditioning or monitoring of players.
Sealy said: “Put it this way, if he wanted to go out for a load of beers or have a few crafty cigarettes, he would get away with it because he is just going to be so much better than most of the players out here anyway.
“And of course he is Wayne Rooney — one of the most popular, idolised footballers out here with a massive following.
“No one is really going to be that worried as long as he is doing the business on the field. Over here I can see him scoring 40-yard screamers past the Chinese keepers.”
In China, foreign keepers are prohibited and the standard is embarrassingly poor.
It is not yet known if Rooney is planning to move his family — wife Coleen and sons Kai, seven, Klay, three, and 13- month-old Kit — with him. If he does not, Sealy believes Rooney could struggle.
He said: “I’m single and even I find it tough sometimes. We had a French midfielder called Julien Gorius, who joined last year — and he struggled.
“His wife and children visited every two months for a couple of weeks and he couldn’t cope, got homesick and left after just one season.
“It would be so much better for him if he does bring his family because it’ll be good to go home and have a bit of normality. It would keep him sane.”
Yet Sealy, who heralds from Southampton, said he is licking his lips at the prospect of potentially facing Rooney.
He said: “He will be one of China’s biggest-ever signings. He will do major damage in the China Super League and will be just what the division needs.
“They love players with pace who beat people, those like Alex Teixeira — but Wayne is a goalscorer and with the type of goals he scores I think they’re going to love him.
“He’ll be well looked after. Obviously he will earn millions but they will treat him well.
“Whatever he asks for, they will bend over backwards to accommodate him. The thought of the England captain playing in China is unreal. I’d love to play against him.”