Although there are still 10 days to go before the winter transfer window opens for the Chinese Super League next January, one club has already signed a new foreigner - Shandong Taishan.
After bringing in Brazilian senior midfielder Zeca, Shandong Taishan recently signed Georgian midfielder Kazashvili, a 30-year-old who is also a capable attacking player up front, playing as the main winger.
As we all know, Taishan coach Choi Kang-hee's best tactical play is to fly on both wings. He starts the ball from the side and finds the high center forward on the front line to give the opponent's gate a fatal blow. Therefore, wingers and high centers are the two most important links in Choi Kang-hee's tactical system.
This time, Choi Kang-hee's signing goal is also clear. The signing of Zeca was to solve the problem of the team's lack of height in the forward line. This summer, Taishan brought in Pato to play in Indonesia, but the Brazilian striker was awkward and couldn't prove himself. As a result, he was also dumped by Choi Kang-hee. Before the end of the AFC Champions League group stage, Pato has left the team early and returned to Brazil to recuperate from his injury.
In addition, veteran Fellaini officially left the team and Taishan's forward line lost its last high point. Zeca was brought in to fill the vacancy after Fellaini left the team. Kazashvili was brought in to further improve Taishan's side raiding ability and passing quality.
As a matter of fact, Taishan does not lack wingers, and Cressan is the best at this position. In addition, Taishan also has two active international wingers Chen Pu and Liu Binbin, as well as the naturalized player Fernando, known as the "little motorcycle".
Obviously, no one can shake Cressan's starting position in Taishan. Therefore, the addition of Kazashvili also means that one of Chen Pu and Liu Binbin lost their starting position in Taishan. Liu Binbin and Chen Pu have been selected for the national team several times this year, but their performance in the national soccer team is not satisfactory.
Liu Binbin was criticized by many fans for his poor performance in the preliminaries as he did not do much on the offensive end and his defense could not keep up. Chen Pu is still very young and lacks enough experience in the game and made fatal mistakes in the national soccer game. Therefore, although he was selected for the national team again, he has lost the trust of coach Jankovic.
Liu Binbin and Chen Pu did not fully recover their form after returning to Shandong Taishan from the national team, so Cui Kangxi did not make the team's starting lineup in the AFC Champions League group stage. As things stand, Liu Binbin and Chen Pu could be taken away by Kazashvili next season. Who it is depends on Choi Kang-hee's employer.
Also, the arrival of Kazashvili hints at the slim possibility of Fernando staying with the team. Next year, Delgado will be given a Chinese Super League in-form player. According to the rules of the Football Association, a Chinese Super League team can only have one non-blood naturalized player. Obviously, the young Delgado is more valuable to Shandong Taishan.
The arrival of Zeca and Kazashvili will change Shandong Taishan's starting lineup a lot for next season, with some players adjusting their starting lineups. Let's wait and see who will lose their starting positions in the team as a result...
