 In February 2013, Niculae started negotiations with the Chinese squad Shandong Luneng.On 19 February, the Asian club announced that the player was officially signed.On 26 February, he scored his first goal for Shandong in a friendly match against Chongqing F.C..

After representing Romania at the U-16 and U-18 levels, Niculae was promoted to the U-21 level.