Vietnamese volleyballer receives offers to play in Europe

ABO/NDO- National top volleyballer Tran Thi Thanh Thuy has received numerous offers to play abroad after her recent outstanding performances for Vietnam.

The outside hitter is currently playing for Japanese PFU BlueCats with her contract expiring in April.

She will return to her Vietnamese club, VTV Binh Dien Long An, who loaned the star to the Japanese side.
After watching her matches with the national team in various tournaments in 2023 including the FIVB Challenger Cup in France, international clubs have shown interests in signing the national team captain.

According to VTV Binh Dien Long An, clubs from Russia, Turkey, Chinese Taipei and Indonesia are eyeing the 1.93m player. And if Thuy agreed, she would be allowed to move.

Tran Thi Thanh Thuy (left) celebrates with teammates of PFU BlueCats in Japan. (Photo of FC Tran Thị Thanh Thuy).

"We always give the most favourable conditions for athletes to compete abroad, compete and improve their quality based on the athlete's wishes," Nguyen Trinh Anh Phuc, an official of VTV Binh Dien Long An, said.

"We will wait for Thuy to return home, have a meeting between her, her family and the coaching staff to listen to the thoughts and wishes of the individual athlete before officially making a decision."

A scout from Turkey has reportedly held discussions with Binh Dien Long An to make Thuy the first Vietnamese in their country and Europe.

Turkey is the world No 1 women team. They also won the European Championship and the FIVB Volleyball Nations League in 2023 and are unbeaten at the Paris Olympic qualification.

Turkish clubs also appear to be superior to the rest of the world. At the 2023 World Women's Club Championship, the two finalists were Vakifbank SK and Eczacibasi Dynavit of Turkey.

However, VTV Binh Dien Long An officials said there was much work to be done to secure a deal. The biggest problem was that the scout did not disclose information about which club that wanted to sign Thuy, so it was difficult to come to further agreements.

Thuy did receive an offer from Europe in 2022 but she chose to play for PFU BlueCats.

"We must research if the club is really suitable for an Asian athlete or not. In my opinion, Thuy's decision to stay in Japan at time was right because she ensured her income as well as earned opportunities to develop," said scout Chau Le who helped bring Thuy to Japan.

"Going to Europe, planning must be carefully prepared, because there are many issues that must be taken into account such as the team's potential, the coaching style and culture of each team."

(Source: NDO)