In the final match of the 18th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) on the evening of July 23rd, Wuhan Three Town defeated Meizhou Hakka 2-1 at home to secure their sixth win of the season. Only two points separate the seventh-placed Sanzhen from fourth-placed Taishan, meaning Sanzhen still have a chance to move to the top of the competition. Indeed, after going through the first phase of the league and completing a coaching change, Sam Town still haven't given up on their lofty goals in the league, cup and AFC Champions League competition. After bringing in foreigners Park Ji-soo as a defender and Yoo-woo as an inside back, the Sanzen club has also identified an important target to strengthen their forward line: the 29-year-old Malcolm, the team's original top scorer. He just moved from Brazil to Saudi Arabia's Jeddah National FC in January this year.
According to a Beijing Youth Daily reporter, Malcolm is expected to arrive in China on July 24, when he will be flown in from Saudi Arabia and resume his job of joining the Sanzhen club. According to the Chinese Football Association (CFA), each club in the Chinese Super League is allowed to register a maximum of seven foreign players per season (during the opening of two transfer windows). With the addition of Malcolm and Park Ji-soo, a total of seven players have been registered as foreigners in the three towns this season. Although the foreign aid policy of "registering up to 6 players at the same time, registering up to 5 players for a single match, and playing up to 4 players at the same time" is still implemented in the Chinese Super League, the AFC Champions League will implement the "5 +" foreign aid player policy for the new season, which means that the three towns will have a total of 7 foreign aid players. The existing seven foreign aid, there are six can register to participate in the AFC Champions League.
Malcolm was once again sought after by Three Town, undoubtedly to bolster the team's offense. Prior to this, Aziz, as Malcom's replacement, has scored 9 goals and is ranked 5th in the top scorer list of the Chinese Super League this season. And the 2nd top scorer in the current San Zhen team is Edmilson, who scored 5 goals. There is no doubt that Malcolm's return will greatly improve the team's offense.
