After the 2022 season, Chinese Super League stalwart Shanghai Shenhua celebrates the club's rebirth in 2023.
According to well-known domestic soccer media reports, Shanghai Jiuzhi Group has officially taken over the Shenhua Club in full, which also means that the era of Greenland Group controlling Shanghai Shenhua is finally over.
The Ninth Group is known to be one of the richest investors in Chinese sports. Before entering the soccer field, they have been running the Shanghai men's basketball team in the CBA league for years. In just a few seasons, Shanghai Nine has rebuilt the Shanghai men's basketball team into a championship-caliber team by investing heavily.
With this entry into the Shenhua club, I believe that the Jiuzhi Group will continue to adhere to the previous business philosophy, especially when the Chinese Super League has hit rock bottom, and I believe that Shenhua will surely have a big change in the new season.
As a result, many fans believe that they will certainly clear out the first team after entering the main Shenhua club. It is feared that few of the 21 players will stay after their contracts with the club expired at the end of last year.
However, according to the latest news, Shenhua has no players clean. According to reports, only four veterans such as Feng Xiaoting, Zhu Baojie, Li Yunqiu and Zhao Mingjian have recently decided not to renew their contracts with the club.
As things stand, the 38-year-old Feng Xiaoting is sure to announce his retirement, and Zhu Baojie, Li Yunqiu, and Zhao Mingjian have a chance to develop in other Chinese Super League or Chinese League One teams.
Zeng Cheng, a veteran player who has been in trouble with the Shenhua club over his salary, is unexpectedly on the Shenhua winter training list. In addition, Peng Xinli, who was rumored to have returned to his hometown of Sichuan to join Chinese Super League (CSL) newcomer Chengdu Rongcheng, is also on the list.
In addition to Zeng Cheng and Peng Xinli, veterans such as Cao Yunding, Wu Xi and Zhu Jianrong also stayed at Shenhua without any doubt. Although these three players are not young, they were the absolute mainstay of Shenhua's team last season and are also coach Wu Jingui's favorites. Therefore, despite the expiration of their contracts with the music department, few Shanghai fans think they will leave Shenhua in the new season.
From the current situation, under the leadership of Wu Jingui, Shenhua in the new season will continue to build the team with the policy of bringing the old with the new. Veterans such as Cao Yunding, Wu Xi and Yu Hanchao will continue to serve as the core of the team. Young players such as Jiang Shenglong, Liu Ruofan, Wang Haijian and Zhou Junchen will get more opportunities to play in the new season, and they will become the cornerstone of Shenhua's team building in the coming years.
In terms of foreigners, Bolaños has been dropped by the club. Whether or not Bassogo can return as expected depends on the attitude of the Shenhua club's senior management. Considering that Basogo is only 27 years old and has just participated in the World Cup, the Cameroonian striker shouldn't have much problem returning to the team in the new season.
Shenhua will start signing players after settling their contract extensions. Currently, two players are involved with the Shenhua club. One is foreign striker Jose Cante, who scored 14 goals and 6 assists for Cangzhou Lions last season, and the other is Shenzhen's popular international player Dai Weijun. Both players are now red-hot in the Chinese Super League.
In the 2023 season, the home and away system will be fully reinstated in the Chinese Super League, and after three years Shenhua will finally be able to return to the 80,000-strong stadium. I believe the new Shenhua team will appear in front of the home fans after Jiu Group officially enters the home stadium!
