COFFEY MAKING A STIR IN CHINA

AS the crow flies, the distance between Whitby Town’s Turnbull Ground and Shanghai on China’s east coast is the best part of 6,000 miles.

- Richard Edwards

Ashley Coffey feels like he has travelled a similarly long way while making his way from the Northern Premier League to becoming the only Englishman playing in a football super-power in waiting after signing for Shanghai Jiading Huilong in the January transfer window.

The striker turned 31 in December and is a living, breathing example of what’s possible for a player in the latter half of their career when you maintain belief, take risks and embrace every challenge that comes your way.

“I’ve only been here a couple of weeks, but I’ve had a lot of players in League One and League Two, as well as the National League, getting in touch to ask me how I’ve managed to get out here,” he says.

The answer, quite simply, is a rather lengthy one.

Crazy