The Chinese Super League (CSL) is about to embark on a major reform for the new season, and it has been reported that from next year onwards, the CSL's foreign aid policy may be changed to "6 on 5", meaning that each team can register 6 foreign aiders, and 5 foreign aiders can be deployed at the same time in a match. For many Chinese Super League clubs, this will mean more opportunities to strengthen their squad. The latest news shows that Shandong Taishan has already planned to investigate the candidate for the 6th foreign aid, which not only supports the reform of the Chinese Super League, but also adds a piece of confidence to the team's future in the AFC Champions League.
Currently, Taishan have three players in their foreign squad, they are Pato, Cressan and Jadson. Once the transfer window opens, Kazaishvili has already signed and is soon expected to officially join the team, while after that, Brazilian striker Zeca is also likely to join. This will give Taishan a full squad of three strikers, a front man and a center back.
As things stand, the position that Shandong Taishan needs to strengthen the most next season is the back if the Chinese Super League relaxes the registration of the sixth foreign aid. In this year's game, Shandong Taishan's original starting back was South Korean player Sun Junho, but due to his arrest, this position was replaced by Li Yuanyi, Liao Lisheng and Huang Zhengyu in turn. There is a huge gap in the ability of local players compared to foreign aiders, so if Shandong Taishan wants to really strengthen its strength, the introduction of foreign backs is really a good choice.
As a matter of fact, Shandong Taishan has always been very knowledgeable in choosing foreign backs. Players such as Ximang and Uso, whom they introduced in the early years, have been able to join the team at a good price, while Sun Junhao has even shown excellent performance as the MVP of the Chinese Super League. If they can bring in stronger assistance in this position, Shandong Taishan will have a more complete lineup and will be better equipped to deal with opponents who have adapted to the AFC's foreign aid quota reform.
Of course, given Shandong Taishan's level of investment, I'm afraid that even if they've already chosen the names in question, those names won't excite fans too much, and may still be more cost-effective options like Kazaishvili. Foreign backs currently rumored to be linked to the Chinese Super League side, such as Cameroonian international Coman and a Nantes backline player, have also opted for the cheaper and more practical route.
