About Iversen join Chengdu Chengdu, before is based on gossip speculation. With the soccer daily released Ickerson unlimited close to Chengdu Chengdu, naturalized international players to return to the Premier League is not unfounded, can be described as "unlimited close to", which means that the wage problem has been basically resolved, the two sides hand in hand the biggest obstacle has been removed.
Some people think that Ickxon is past his prime and it's not cost-effective to pay a high salary. So, is it worth it for Chengdu to bring him in? Let's take a look through power, age and strengths.
Strength: still able to compete with Chinese super foreigners
As he's gotten older, Exxon has lost a lot of speed and explosiveness. What is his strength in the CFL?
In the 2021 season, Ickxon was still playing in Guangzhou and only participated in the first phase of the Chinese Super League, with 11 goals and 3 assists in 13 games. The Chinese Super League's top scorer that season was Junior (14 goals), with Iversen, who didn't play all the matches, in second place. If Iversen had played the whole season, he would probably have won the Chinese Super League Golden Boot for the third time.
In the 2022 season, Ackerson played for Pakistan B Gremio. Affected by a long period of time without a goal, he played most of the time as a substitute, scoring a total of only 4 goals and failing to continue with the team in the Pakistan First Division. However, Ackerson still had 22 starts, which shows that his strengths are being recognized to some extent by the manager. The level of Pakistan B is much higher than today's Super League and he should have no problem in the Super League.
Judging from his performance in the last two seasons, and at the current level of the Chinese Super League, Ickerson still has the strength of a foreigner level.
Age: no problem with fitness
Iverson is 33 years old, which isn't too old for a modern pro. It's normal to be 35 or 6 running around if you're disciplined enough. In today's Super League, it's common to see absolute mainstays in their 30s, both local and foreign players, and many of the veterans don't perform any worse than the younger players.
Iverson looks a little "fat", but his body fat percentage isn't high, and it's not due to a lack of discipline. At least in the last 12 games he has shown no obvious fitness issues. He's been in the Premier League for many years and his professionalism and quality of work is so good that he should have no problem playing in the Premier League for another two years, as long as he doesn't get injured.
In addition, Chengdu Hibiscus is very pragmatic in doing affairs. He will argue and investigate before choosing Exxon and will not choose a player who can't run as a starter.
Other advantages of Exxon.
1. Local player status without taking up the foreign aid quota. This is an immediate boost to the team's strength and is equivalent to having an extra foreign player on the field.
2, free body, no need to pay the transfer fee. The introduction of a strong foreign aid, at least a few million euros in transfer fees, low-priced Taobao is unrealistic, the probability is very low, you need luck.
3. Familiarity with the Chinese Super League and low risk of signing. It's not uncommon that if you bring in a strong and well-known foreign aid, you may encounter adaptation, and Exxon has no problem with that, and is essentially plug-and-play.
Generally speaking, Chengdu Chengdu should carefully consider bringing in Ickerson and not just focus on his first goal scorer in the history of the Chinese Super League. Ickerson could choose Chengdu Chengdu with some concessions in terms of salary, after all, there is a relatively stable environment with the opportunity to play for the national soccer team again.
