Joy Jerry: Former Nigeria U20 winger joins Chinese club Changchun

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Nigeria youth international Joy Jerry has joined the Chinese Women Super League side, Changchun from Nigeria Women’s Football League Premiership side Edo Queens, Nigeriafootball.ng can exclusively report.

The 20-year-old winger teamed up with Chinese topflight outfit on a one-year deal with an option of a two-year extension following a successful medical upon her arrival in the Asian country on Sunday.

Before her first professional move to China, Jerry had only arrived at Edo Queens from title holders Bayelsa Queens last November and shone for the Benin based club, scoring once to help them finish the first round at the top.

At Bayelsa Queens, she shone like a million stars, captaining the Yenagoa based outfit to the Nigerian league success twice in 2018 and 2022 respectively plus securing a Federation Cup title under the watch of coach Moses Aduku.

At the international level, Jerry was part of the Falconets squad to the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, where they became the first African side to win all group stage matches to reach the quarter-final, before losing to The Netherlands.

With her move to the Asian nation, she becomes the fifth member of the Falconets to secure a professional switch abroad, after Tosin Demehin, Rofiat Imuran, Deborah Abiodun, and Mercy Idoko.

She joined Desire Oparanozie in China as Nigeria’s second player in the country’s women’s topflight after the departure of Chinwendu Ihezuo who joined Monterrey.