William Rupert James Donkin (Chinese: 沈子貴; pinyin: Shen Zuguì; 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.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Rupert James Donkin[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2000-12-26) 26 December 2000 (age 21)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Oxford, England | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger, Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Shenzhen | ||
| Number | 40 | ||
| 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 | 22 | (4) |
| 2022– | Shenzhen | 3 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2018 | Chinese Taipei U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2017– | Chinese Taipei | 18 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:29, 30 September 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2019 | |||
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]
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.
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.[citation needed]
In November 2018, he was named in the Chinese Taipei side for the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship second round.[citation needed]
Taiwanese fans have nicknamed Donkin "Doughtnut Boy" due to how his surname translates into Mandarin.[16]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Taipei | 2017 | 4 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 18 | 0 |
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Shenzhen F.C. – current squad | |
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