The story of the former Everton youngster Jiang Guangtai may not be familiar to many people. This is likely because Jiang Guangtai was formerly known as Tyias Browning.
How did Jiang Guangtai’s career begin (Tyias Browning)?
Степиньш Ольга, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons
Tyias Browning, as he was formerly known, was born in 1994 in Liverpool, Merseyside. He came through the Everton youth system, having joined the club at just ten in 2004.
The young defender made his way through the various youth teams with the Toffees, playing at right-back, and impressing. He helped the Everton U-18s win the Premier League title in the 2010/11 season before moving on to the club’s reserve team.
He even won the U-21 Player of the Season award for the Toffees reserves in the 2013/14 season. By that time, Browning had already been in a first-team squad for Everton, as he was an unused substitute in a 2-1 defeat by Chelsea.
The defender signed his first professional contract in July 2013, and in 2015, he was given a new three-year deal. It all looked rosy for Browning at that point.
He made his senior debut for the Merseyside outfit in September, as he came off the bench in a 1-1 derby draw against Liverpool at Anfield.
ТОВ “Динамоманія”, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Browning looked to have a promising career ahead of him on Merseyside. However, he went on to make just eight more appearances in all competitions for the Toffees.
While still contracted with Everton, Browning enjoyed loan spells at Wigan Athletic, Preston North End and Sunderland.
A fresh start in the far east
It wasn’t until his first permanent move that his career really took off, as Browning joined the Chinese Super League outfit Guangzhou FC for a fee in the region of around £3.5m in 2019.
He made a decent start to life in China, but playing time was soon hampered by the club’s playing regulations. Browning could only play the first half of the league campaign as a foreign player, and his club had to cancel his registration as a first-team player after re-signing Elkeson.
Would just like to say congratulations to former Everton defender Tyias Browning who has today received his Chinese passport. Ty qualified due to his Chinese grandfather.
He’s now a Chinese citizen under the name Jiang Guangtai, and could represent China at the 2022 World Cup pic.twitter.com/Eu4HQUGK8H
— (@EvertonNewsFeed) September 24, 2019
The defender trained with the reserve team for the second half of the campaign. The team went on to win. The Chinese Super League title, and Browning received a winner’s medal.
Browning returned to the first team for the 2020 season as a Chinese player because his maternal grandfather, Ying-Wing Chiang, had emigrated from China to England. In 2019, he became a Chinese citizen and later changed his name to Jiang Guangtai.
He stayed in Guangzhou until 2022, making 61 appearances in all competitions. In 2022, the defender joined Shanghai Port, his current team, where he has made 108 appearances and is considered a club stalwart.
During his time with the Shanghai club, he has won the Chinese Super League on three occasions in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Making his international debut in 2021
The move to China had brought Browning to the attention of the national team set-up. He had previously represented England at every level up to the U-21 level, but the chance to represent his grandfather’s national team was too good to turn down.
@csl_clips Jiang Guangtai first goal for China NT ! ❤️ #fyp #tyiasbrowning #jiangguangtai #evertonfc #sunderlandfc #shanghaiportfc #chinant #chinanationalteam ♬ son original – CSL CLIPS
Browning received his first call-up to the national team in 2020, but didn’t make his international debut until May 2021, when he appeared in a World Cup qualifier against Guam.
As of writing, Browning has won 35 international caps for China, scoring once in a 2-0 friendly win over Palestine in 2023.
An unusual journey
Tyias Browning has certainly undergone an unusual football journey, from a Premier League academy graduate born and bred in Liverpool to a Chinese international and becoming a four-time Chinese Super League winner.
His story shows that being a mainstay in English football is not the only option for young footballers. There are many avenues to success in the beautiful game, and they don’t always have the same journey or destination.
When the defender looks back on his playing career, he is sure to be proud of what he has achieved in the game, even if it was not the path to success he may have envisioned during his time in Everton’s youth system.
