# Tyias Browning

Jiang Guangtai (Chinese: 蒋光太; pinyin: Jiǎng Guāngtài; born Tyias Charles Browning; 27 May 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port. Born in Liverpool, England, to a mother of Cantonese Chinese descent, he has represented the China national team since 2021.
In addition to playing as a centre-back, Jiang can also play as a right-back.

## Early life

Jiang was born Tyias Charles Browning in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He attended the same school as his former Wigan Athletic teammates Lee Nicholls and Jack Phillips.
He is eligible to play for China national team because his maternal grandfather Ying-Wing Chiang (1939–1992), a chef in Macclesfield, England, was Cantonese, having emigrated from Meige Village, Xinhui County, China. Chiang married a Black British woman. In 2019, Jiang became a naturalised Chinese citizen, benefiting from the Chinese football naturalisation policies. He later changed his name to Jiang Guangtai.

## Club career
### Everton

Jiang joined Everton in 2004 at the age of ten. Prior to that, he started at the local team for eight months before joining Everton. After progressing through the youth team for Everton, Jiang began to play in the club's reserve, where he became a regular. He then helped Everton Reserves win the U18 Premier League title in the 2010–11 season.
Jiang developed at the club's reserves, playing in the right–back position for the side throughout his time there. Jiang also received a captain armband for the club's reserves, as he develops. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Jiang won the Under-21s Player of the Season at the club's end of season awards night.
On 30 December 2012, he was called up to the first team for the first time as an unused substitute as Everton lost 2–1 to Chelsea. On 26 July 2013, Jiang signed his first professional contract with the club, keeping him until 2015.
In the 2014–15 season, Jiang signed a three–year contract, keeping him until 2017. He made his debut for Everton's senior squad on 27 September 2014 at Anfield for the Merseyside Derby against Liverpool, coming on as a substitute to replace long-time Everton servant Tony Hibbert after 72 minutes with the scoreline 1–0 to Liverpool, as the game ended 1–1. Jiang made another appearance in a follow–up match against Manchester United on 5 October 2014, coming on as a substitute to replace Hibbert again, in a 2–1 loss. Two months later, on 11 December 2014, he made his first start for the side, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Krasnodar. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Jiang made three appearances in all competitions.
In the 2014–15 season, Jiang made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a late substitute to replace Brendan Galloway, in a 3–0 win over Southampton on 15 August 2015. He then received a handful of first team appearances for the side this season. In one of the match against Swansea City on 19 September 2015, Jiang was named Team of the Week after helping the side draw 0–0, keeping a clean sheet in the process. However, he suffered a knee injury during the club's win over Blackburn Rovers in the Lancashire Senior Cup, and was sidelined for the rest of the 2015–16 season.
After being sidelined for a long time, Jiang returned to full fitness, playing 45 minutes, as Everton U23 lost 4-1 by Norwich City in the Premier League Cup in November 2016. He was then featured in the EFL Trophy against Blackpool, in a 5–4 defeat in the penalty shoot-out after the game was finished with a 1–1 draw on 8 November 2016. Despite returning to fitness, he was told by the club's management that he was to be loaned out for the rest of the 2016–17 season. After his loan spell at Sunderland ended, Jiang was expected to be loaned out again, but the move failed to materialise. It was announced in January 2019 that Jiang was expected to leave Everton, with his departure being imminent.

#### Wigan Athletic (loan)

Jiang joined Uwe Rösler's Wigan Athletic on a one-month loan on 10 January 2014. He made his professional debut a day later versus AFC Bournemouth in a 3–0 victory, replacing James Perch as a substitute. In a follow–up match, Jiang then started the whole game as a right–back, as Wigan Athletic lost 3–0 against Doncaster Rovers, in what turned out to be his last appearance for the club. Afterwards, he returned to his parent club, Everton.

#### Preston North End (loan)

Jiang signed a new two-and-a-half-year deal at Everton and was then immediately sent on loan to Preston North End until the end of the 2016–17 season on 30 January 2017. The following day, he made his Preston North End debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against Cardiff City. Jiang became a first team regular for the side, playing in the right–back position in a number of matches. This lasted until he suffered a knee injury that kept him out for two months. He made his return to the starting lineup on 24 April 2017 against Newcastle United, where they lost 4–1. At the end of the 2016–17 season, having made eight appearances for Preston North End, Jiang returned to his parent club.

#### Sunderland (loan)

On 8 July 2017, Jiang joined relegated side Sunderland on a season long-deal, where he was reunited with Manager Simon Grayson, who played under him while at Preston North End. He made his Sunderland debut in the opening game of the season, where he started the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Derby County. Since making his Sunderland debut, Jiang established himself in the starting eleven for the side, playing in the centre–back position. However, Sunderland soon found themselves struggling in the league that saw them at the bottom of the table. After being sidelined with an injury that kept him out throughout October, he returned to the first team as a late substitute against Millwall on 18 November 2017. Jiang continued to feature in the first team under the new management of Chris Coleman. Under Coleman, Jiang’s performance improved, where he kept four clean sheets for the side. Jiang continued to feature in the first team until he suffered a groin injury during a 3–0 loss against Aston Villa on 6 March 2018 and was sidelined for the rest of the season. Without him, Sunderland struggled in the league for the rest of the season, leading to their relegation to League One. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Jiang went on to make twenty–nine appearances in all competitions.

### Guangzhou Evergrande

On 20 February 2019, Jiang transferred to Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande for an undisclosed fee, which was believed to be in the region of €4.6m. On 5 March 2019, he made his debut for the club in a 2–0 home win over Japanese side Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the 2019 AFC Champions League. Due to the fact that Chinese Super League's policies on naturalized players were still vague and incomplete at the time, Jiang could only be registered as a foreign player for the first half of the 2019 season and his league registration had to be cancelled in the 2019 summer transfer window after the club re-signed fellow naturalized player Ai Kesen, therefore he could only train with the reserve team for the second half of the season. Manager Fabio Cannavaro admitted in a press conference that the situation with Jiang confused him too as he stated that the club only signed him because they expected him to be used as a Chinese player. The team went on to win the 2019 Chinese Super League and Jiang was still eligible to receive a medal as he made 4 league appearances in the first half of the season. After the policy became more complete in the following year and the formalities were completed, Jiang returned to the team as a Chinese player for the 2020 season.

### Shanghai Port

On 24 August 2022, Jiang joined fellow Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port. On 20 September 2022, Jiang made his Shanghai Port debut and scored his first career goal in a 2–1 away win at Henan Songshan Longmen. On 29 October 2023, Jiang won his second league title and first one with Shanghai Port after a 1–1 home draw against direct competitor Shandong Taishan.

## International career
### Youth

Jiang has represented England at under-17, under-19, and under-21 level. In addition to playing for England, he is eligible to play for China.
In 2010, Jiang was featured four times, for England U17s, including being called up for the Nordic Tournament.
In March 2013, Jiang was called up by England U19s for the first time, making his debut for the side in a 1–0 win over Turkey U19s. He went on to make four appearances for the U19 side.
In May 2014, Jiang was called up to the under-21 squad for the first time. On 22 May 2014 Jiang made his England U21 debut, playing the whole game in a 3–0 win over Qatar U21.

### Senior

Jiang received his first call-up to the Chinese national team in 2020, but had to wait until their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Guam on 30 May 2021 to make his international debut. On 20 June 2023, Jiang scored his first international goal in a 2–0 home win against Palestine in an international friendly game.
Jiang was named in China's squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar and started the team's opening match against Tajikistan on 13 January 2024. While China performed poorly in the tournament, Jiang’s display earned him praise for his decisiveness and strength.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 29 October 2023.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Everton | 2012–13 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Everton | 2013–14 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Everton | 2014–15 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Everton | 2015–16 | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 |
| Everton | 2016–17 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Everton | 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Everton | 2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Everton | Total | Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 |
| Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2013–14 | Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Preston North End (loan) | 2016–17 | Championship | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 0 |
| Sunderland (loan) | 2017–18 | Championship | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 29 | 0 |
| Guangzhou Evergrande | 2019 | Chinese Super League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 |
| Guangzhou Evergrande | 2020 | Chinese Super League | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 |
| Guangzhou Evergrande | 2021 | Chinese Super League | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 |
| Guangzhou Evergrande | 2022 | Chinese Super League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 |
| Guangzhou Evergrande | Total | Total | 48 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 0 |
| Shanghai Port | 2022 | Chinese Super League | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 2 |
| Shanghai Port | 2023 | Chinese Super League | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 |
| Shanghai Port | Total | Total | 39 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 3 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 131 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 152 | 3 |
* ↑ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 3 Appearances in AFC Champions League

### International statistics

National team :
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2021 | 9 | 0 |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 |
| 2023 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 0 |
| Total | 32 | 1 |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 20 June 2023 | Dalian Barracuda Bay Football Stadium, Dalian, China | Palestine | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |

## Honours
### Club

Guangzhou Evergrande
* Chinese Super League: 2019
Shanghai Port
* Chinese Super League: 2023, 2024