Will Donkin

William Rupert James Donkin (Chinese: 沈子貴; pinyin: Shěn Zǐguì, born 26 December 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chinese Super League side Shenzhen. Born in England, he represents the Chinese Taipei national team.

Will Donkin
Personal information
Full name William Rupert James Donkin[1]
Date of birth (2000-12-26) 26 December 2000[2]
Place of birth Oxford, England
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Winger, Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Shenzhen
Number 9
Youth career
2010–2012 Barnet
2012–2017 Chelsea
2017–2019 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Stabæk 0 (0)
2020–2021 Balzan 3 (0)
2021 → Mosta (loan) 5 (1)
2021–2022 Mosta 27 (5)
2022– Shenzhen 22 (1)
International career‡
2018 Chinese Taipei U19 3 (0)
2017– Chinese Taipei 18 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:29, 31 December 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2019

Career

Donkin was born in Oxford to an English father and a Taiwanese mother. He lived in Amsterdam at a young age.[3] He went to school at Eton College and played for the school Association 1st XI at the age of only fifteen. During his time at Eton he represented England Independent Schools (ISFA) at Under-14, Under-15 and Under-16 level.[4]

At the age of nine he was scouted by Barnet's academy, before signing for Chelsea at the age of eleven. He played for the Chelsea Academy for five years, winning numerous honours including the Premier League Under-15 International Tournament where he scored in the final during a 2–1 victory over Manchester City.[5]

In March 2017, he was signed by Crystal Palace to play in their Under-18 team, where he helped the side win the southern league in his first season. On 28 September 2019, he signed for Stabæk Fotball in the Norwegian Eliteserien, although he will be ineligible to play for the first team until 1 January 2020.[6]

In September 2020, Donkin joined Maltese Premier League side Balzan on a one-year deal.[7] After making only three substitute appearances for Balzan, Donkin was loaned to fellow Maltese Premier League side Mosta until the end of the season.[8] On 6 March 2021, Donkin scored his first professional goal in a 5–1 victory over Senglea Athletic.[9]

On 31 August 2022, Donkin completed a move to Chinese Super League side Shenzhen.[10]

International career

Youth

On 7 October 2018, he was named in the under-19 side for the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship.[11] He played every minute of Chinese Taipei's campaign at the tournament, which ended with them eliminated in last place in their group.

Senior

In October 2017 it emerged that Taiwan head coach Gary White was seeking European based players with Taiwanese heritage to represent the team, having also called up Ross County midfielder Tim Chow.[12] In November, it was announced that Donkin had also been called up after impressing for the national under-19 team during training.[13][14] He made his debut at the age of 16 as an 85th-minute substitute [15] but could not prevent Taiwan from being eliminated from Asian Cup qualification at the hands of Turkmenistan. He returned to the national team in December for the 2017 CTFA International Tournament, earning plaudits as he appeared from the bench in all 3 games, overall assisting 2 goals and hitting the crossbar in his performances.

In November 2018, he was named in the Chinese Taipei side for the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship second round.

Taiwanese fans have nicknamed Donkin "Doughtnut Boy" due to how his surname translates into Mandarin.[16]

Career statistics

Club appearances
As of 31 December 2022.[17]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stabæk 2020 Eliteserien 00---00
Balzan 2020-21 Maltese Premier League 3000--30
Mosta (Loan) 2020-21 Maltese Premier League 5100--51
Mosta 2021-22 Maltese Premier League 2752320-318
Shenzhen 2022 Chinese Super League 3000--30
Career total 386232000429
Notes

    International appearances
    As of 19 November 2019[18]
    Appearances and goals by national team and year
    National teamYearAppsGoals
    Chinese Taipei 201740
    201870
    201970
    Total180

    References
    1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
    2. Will Donkin profile at cpfc.co.uk
    3. Buckton, Mark (6 June 2020). "TTT Interview: Will Donkin – Taiwan's Footballing Star Of The Future". The Taiwan Times. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
    4. "TAIWAN'S ETON TEEN EAGER TO FACE SOCCEROOS". FTBL. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
    5. Youth Development Phase 2015/16 roll of honour. 7 July 2015. Premier League.
    6. Henter spiller med fortid i Chelsea og Crystal Palace Stabæk Fotball (in Norwegian). 26 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
    7. "Balzan sign former Chelsea Academy player". timesofmalta.com. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
    8. "Will Donkin leaves Balzan to join Mosta on loan". timesofmalta.com. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
    9. "Mosta vs Senglea Athletic". Maltese Football Association. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
    10. "Mosta's Will Donkin moves to China Super League". sportsdesk.com.mt. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
    11. "U19男足重返亞錦 最後衝刺加入三名臺裔戰力" (in Chinese). CTFA. 7 October 2018.
    12. British soccer player of Taiwanese descent to join national team Focus Taiwan. 31 October 2017. Accessed 15 November 2017.
    13. Crystal Palace Under-18 Will Donkin to join Taiwan national football team Taiwan News. 3 November 2017. Accessed 15 November 2017.
    14. U18s Midfielder Donkin Gets Full International Call-Up CPFC.co.uk. 7 November 2017. Accessed 15 November 2017.
    15. Congratulations to 16-year-old #CPFC Academy player Will Donkin on making his senior debut for Chinese Taipei today! @CPFC
    16. Rogers, Jonathon (2 May 2018). "Will Donkin: A Teen Living The International Dream". Crystal Palace v Leicester City matchday programme. Crystal Palace F.C. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
    17. Will Donkin at Soccerway. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
    18. "Will Donkin". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
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