The forward seems unlikely to start against Perth Glory this weekend but has vowed to put in plenty of training ground graft to boost his chances of selection.

"I will work hard and maybe I'll have a chance, maybe not, but that's not important. I'll work hard for the future," Zhang told the Newcastle Herald.

"It's only been two games and the first was away, so I think the team will get better and I will try to score goals."

The forward arrives in Newcastle having netted 31 goals in 131 appearances for Chinese Super League club Tianjin Teda. He also bagged three goals in 10 games for Indonesian club Persik Kediri.

His new coach is hoping he will hit the goal trail with the Jets but also provide scoring opportunities for others.

"I think he will score a few goals, but I think he will also bring players into the game. If he can do that we will be quite happy," said Culina.

Culina said adapting to the physical nature of Australian football would be the forward's greatest challenge.

"He has good height and is reasonable in the air, but Zhang would not have faced too much physicality either in China or Indonesia," Culina added.

"That is the part of his game that he has to bring out. He has to be prepared for it."