[1] He would work his way up through the youth teams and was promoted to the Porto B team, the reserve side who are allowed to participate within the Portuguese football league pyramid, however he was loaned to third tier football club Salgueiros to gain more playing time.
[2] On 7 February 2018, Yan made his senior debut in a league game for Salgueiros against Freamunde in 3-1 defeat.
[3] At the end of the season, Yan would go on to have moves with other Portuguese teams in Arouca and Gondomar before returning to China when he joined top tier club Guangzhou Evergrande on 28 February 2019, initially on a loan.
[4] On 6 April 2019, Yan would make his debut for the team in a league game against Guangzhou R&F F.C.
[5] As the season went on he would become a regular within the team and would go on to win the 2019 Chinese Super League title with the club.