There are still three rounds left in this season's Chinese Super League. As things stand, Shandong Taishan is eight points ahead of Shanghai Port and can lock up the league title two rounds ahead of schedule with a win over Guoan in this round of the Chinese Super League. In terms of relegation, Shenzhen, which is not doing well, has basically locked up the relegation spot in advance, and the remaining relegation spot will be between Dalian Ren and Nantong Zhiyun. The only suspense at the moment is which team will finish third in the Chinese Super League and qualify for next season's AFC Champions League. Currently, Shanghai Shenhua is in third place, beating Zhejiang on goal difference, with Beijing Guoan just three points behind. Third place in the Chinese Super League will be between Shanghai Shenhua, Zhejiang and Beijing Guoan.
By the end of the league, other teams with no desire or appetite have focused on the transfer market. Chengdu Rongcheng became the dark horse of the Chinese Super League after they were promoted to the league. Under Korean coach Seo Jung-won, they are leading the Chinese Super League. Had it not been for the injury to central midfielder foreigner Romuloin, Chengdu Rongcheng's performance might have improved this season and they might even have hoped to compete for a ticket to the AFC Champions League. The team's excellent record has given Chengdu Rongcheng's management full confidence in the team, and the music department has begun to work on next season's transfers in advance, looking for suitable transfer targets to strengthen the squad. According to some of the "we media" in China, Chengdu Rongcheng has already done that. The target is Shanghai Shenhua, a traditional Chinese Super League powerhouse.
This season, Shanghai Jiuzhi Group took over the operation of Shenhua from Greenland Group. After taking over the operation of Shanghai Shenhua, Jiuzhi Group actively helped the team to solve the problems of salary arrears and debts. At the same time, it has helped the club to introduce high-level foreign and domestic helpers to speed up the team's new and old turnover. This season, many young players were reused. In order to make room for young players, Shanghai Shenhua left two veterans, Peng Xinli and Bai Jiajun, before the start of the season in the form of loan and transfer. Peng Xinli, who joined Shanghai Shenhua from Chongqing, was loaned out to Qingdao Hainiu, a Chinese Super League promotion rival. Peng Xinli, who came to Qingdao Hainiu, quickly took the starting position with his rich experience and individual ability. It is reported that Peng's loan contract will expire at the end of this season. It is likely that he will not return to Shenhua. He is likely to join another Chinese Super League team this offseason to continue his career.
Recently, there are news that Chengdu Rongcheng intends to recruit Shenhua players. Peng Xinli is also eager to return to the Sichuan soccer team after the disbandment of the Chongqing team. Shanghai Shenhua will not put any obstacles in the way of this transfer deal. Besides Peng Xinli, Chengdu Rongcheng is also interested in Shanghai Shenhua's striker Liu Ruofan. Liu Ruofan is another proud disciple trained by Chinese soccer youth training guru Xu Genbao. When he first started out, it was once believed that Liu Ruofan's awareness and physical talent was no less than that of Wu Lei. Although he represented China's Asian Games training team at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Liu Ruofan did not get enough playing time at Shanghai Shenhua. Moreover, since joining Shanghai Shenhua, he has been loaned out to Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and Chengdu Rongcheng. It is worth mentioning that during the Chengdu Rongcheng school calendar, Liu Ruofan scored 13 league goals in one season.
In order to get more stable playing time, Liu Ruofan is likely to submit a transfer request to the top management of Shenhua this summer. Naturally, Chengdu Chengdu has become one of the favorite homes for Liu Ruofan. If Chengdu Chengdu can successfully take Shenhua stars Peng Xinli and Liu Ruofan from Shanghai Shenhua this summer, Chengdu Chengdu's overall strength will be further improved.
Shanghai Shenhua's rivals Shanghai Port have basically locked up the Chinese Super League title this season. But at the end of the season, coach Javier, who led the team to the title, and central midfielder Oscar may bid farewell to Shanghai Port. Oscar's contract with Shanghai Port expires in 2024. Oscar started long after the Chinese Super League issued a salary limit and was involved in transfer scandals with many European and Brazilian teams. Shanghai Port is also likely to sell Oscar before his contract expires to recoup some financial losses. As a result, Shanghai Port will likely find a replacement for Oscar in the transfer market this offseason.
After the Chinese Super League enacted a star restriction, Shanghai Port is unable to fill the void left by Oscar by bringing in high-level foreign players. Shanghai Port is likely to tap some strong domestic players from the Chinese Super League to take Oscar's place. According to the latest news provided by domestic authoritative media, Taishan midfielder Liu Yang, who represented China as a super player in Hangzhou Asian Games, is likely to be the target of Shanghai Port. With his outstanding performance in Hangzhou Asian Games, Liu Yang also managed to be selected into Yang Kovic's national team, becoming a new international player. After the match, in an interview with reporters about his transfer scandal with Shanghai Port, Deyang said, Almost every off-season I have a transfer scandal with Shanghai Port, but I would like to say that the orange color of Taishan always flows in my blood.
