Although Shanghai Harbour won this season's Chinese Super League title, their performance in the league did deserve a bit of praise. Early exits from the FA Cup and AFC Champions League, and a sudden start to fall off the pace in the second half of the league, almost being overtaken by Shandong Taishan, have left the Harbour open to questioning by many fans and media outlets.
As the coach of Seaport, Javier has also been the target of criticism. The voices of the Spanish coach's dismissal did not diminish because of Seaport's championship. Recently, Tianjin media reported that Javier's dismissal seems to be finalized. Currently, Seaport Club has found Javier's successor. He is Xie Hui, a famous coach in the Chinese Super League.
Xie Hui is the most recognized local coach in the Chinese Super League. It is only because of Dalianren's poor financial situation and incomplete squad that they were relegated this season due to their poor performance.
There has also been a lot of talk that the Dalian music department will be disbanded after the Dalianites entered China's first division, so many of the team's coaches and players are looking for their next home. Xie Hui was an assistant coach at Harbor and his experience in the Chinese Super League in recent years has made him an experienced coach. After returning to Shanghai Harbor, with the financial support of the music department, I believe Xie Hui can take the Harbor team to new heights.
In addition to the coaching change, the Harbour Club will also be making major moves in the player market. They have now targeted signings from the Wuhan Sanzhen team, which could be disbanded next year.
Since the withdrawal of the club's shareholder Wuhan Shangwen Group, the Sanzhen team has not been able to find a new investor. Although there is recent news that E-Tourism Investment is expected to take over Wuhan Sanzhen, it is only at the stage of intention and no substantial progress has been made.
Since the withdrawal of Shangwen Group, Wuhan Sports Bureau has hosted Wuhan Three Town. From the current situation, ETSI is not willing to invest in the club. Next season, Wuhan Three Town is likely to be hosted by Wuhan Sports Bureau.
The Wuhan Sports Bureau has very limited funds and cannot afford the huge operating costs of the three town teams. As a result, many of the key first team players will likely be dumped. Next season, the Sanzhen team will likely play in the Chinese Super League with more young players, and Shanghai Port is taking this opportunity to tap into the Sanzhen team.
It was previously reported that there are only three teams in the Chinese Super League that are not in arrears this season, one of which is Shanghai Harbour, who can still offer the maximum wage contract of 5 million dollars for local players. As such, the Harbor team remains quite attractive to Tri-Town players.
According to the latest news, Seaport plans to tap two current international players from Three Town - Wei Shihao and Xie Pengfei. Wei Shihao had played for Seaport in 2017, when Seaport was star-studded, and Wei Shihao took his place in Seaport with his outstanding talent and individual ability.
Nowadays, most of Harbour's starters are getting old, with Lv Wenjun and Wu Lei already in their 30s. Harbour need wingers like Wei Shihao who are good at breaking through and scoring to improve their forward strength.
Xie Pengfei, like Wei Shihao, is a popular current international player. Although he is also a winger, his characteristics are different from Wei Shihao. Xie Pengfei is much more organized and capable of assisting, often giving his teammates assists after the winger breaks through. Cake-eating forwards like Wu Lei also need players like Xie Pengfei to pass the ball around more for themselves.
Of course, it's not only Harbour Club that wants to bring in Wei Shihao and Xie Pengfei. Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua are said to be interested in both players. As for which team they will finally join next January, let's wait and see...
