For the 2019 season, Chinese Super League stalwart Beijing Guoan introduced two naturalized Chinese players, Hou Yong Yong and Li Ke, to spearhead the CFA's player naturalization policy.
However, the performance of these two naturalized players in Guoan did not fully meet expectations. The talented Norwegian soccer youth Hou Yongyong joined Guoan and was never reused by the then coach Schmidt.
After Frenchman Genesio became the head coach of Guoan, Hou Yongyong finally ushered in his first outbreak in Guoan, but the good times did not last long. Hou Yongyong, who had just played in the starting lineup, had to go back to Norway for an operation because of a recurrence of an old knee injury. Unexpectedly, he went away for more than a year, until the second half of last year to return to Guoan.
Having lost his place in the team, Hou Yongyong, whose contract with Guoan expired at the end of last year, recently joined Norwegian League side Lanheim to begin a new chapter in his career.
Unlike the case of Hou Yongyong, Li Ke, who comes from Arsenal's youth training system, clearly has a more physical counterpart than the local players, so he became the team's main midfielder soon after joining Guoan. As a result of his outstanding performance in the league, he was selected for the national team and became one of the first naturalized players to represent the national soccer team in international matches, along with Ackerson.
However, Li Ke seems to be cursed just like Hou Yongyong.During the 2021 season, he also injured his leg. Although he didn't notice any problems, the constant pain prevented him from participating in training and matches. Guoan's team doctors were unable to do anything about the problem. In this case, Li Ke could only return to England for diagnosis and treatment.
Upon returning to England, Rico's leg injury was quickly diagnosed and he underwent surgery. Since then, he has stayed in his hometown of London for physical rehabilitation and training. Currently, Li Ke has basically recovered from his injury and is training with the U18 team of his old Premier League home, Arsenal.
Like Hou Yongyong, Li Ke's contract with Guoan expired at the end of last year. However, the club does not intend to give up Li Ke. After all, Li Ke is still under 30 years old and in his playing years. Without injuries, he is still one of the top midfielders in the Chinese Super League.
Therefore, Guoan club is ready to recall Li Ke in the near future and he will fly back to China from England this month to meet with Guoan who is training in Haikou. At that time, the coaching team of Guoan will conduct a comprehensive investigation on Li Ke. In addition to investigating his form and ability, Guoan team doctors will also assess Li Ke's physical recovery and whether his leg injury will affect his future performance.
If Li can pass this evaluation, he will renew a new contract with Guoan FC. However, considering the actual situation of the Chinese Super League and the new salary limitation policy that will be introduced by the Football Association in the 2023 season, even if Li Neng renews his contract, the annual salary of his new contract will be much lower than when he joined in 2019.
As to whether Li can officially return to the Chinese Super League for Guoan next season, it depends on his physical recovery and whether he can reach a consensus with the club on the terms of his contract extension...
