The landscape of the Chinese Super League has changed dramatically since the gold dollar soccer bubble burst. Previously, teams just entering the Super League could only fight for relegation, but now the league's promoted teams can already compete for a place in the AFC Champions League.
Last season, Chinese Super League newcomers Zhejiang finished third in the league. This season, Chengdu Rongcheng replaced Zhejiang. After 17 rounds of the league, they are still in the top three of the Chinese Super League table.
However, Chengdu Rongcheng's recent performance is not very good. In the past three rounds of league matches, they only recorded 1 win and 2 losses. This is mainly due to the fact that the team's midfield engine - Romulo ruptured the cruciate ligament of his left knee in the match against Hong Kong and was out for the whole season. Without this attacking organizer, Chengdu's attacking power in front of the field was severely damaged.
Chengdu Rongcheng FC, in order to make a breakthrough this season, decided to fill the vacancy after Romulo left the team due to injury by bringing in reinforcements in the Chinese Super League summer transfer window. According to the latest news, Chengdu Rongcheng FC has recently signed Brazilian midfielder Andrigo.
Andrigo, 28, is the front man on the pitch and also plays as a right and left winger. As a midfielder, Andrigo has excellent technique and great skills, and his shooting skills are also quite good. As a youngster, he was also selected for the Brazilian U17 national youth team.
Andrigo began his career with Barclays Premier League powerhouse Internacional. Early last year, the Brazilian midfielder landed in Asia, joining South Korea's Security FC in the K2 League. This season, Andrigo scored 6 goals and contributed 8 assists for Safety FC. Such hot form has also attracted the interest of Chengdu Rongcheng.
Now that Andrigo has officially joined Chengdu Rongcheng, it is believed that he will appear in the next round of the league in Chengdu's uniform in the Chinese Super League.
In addition, Chengdu Rongcheng is also very hopeful to bring in Shenzhen midfielder Zhang Yuan in the summer window. 26-year-old Zhang Yuan is very talented in soccer. He grew up in Dalian's famous soccer school Northeast Road Primary School to receive soccer training. Shortly after graduating from elementary school, Zhang Yuan went to Spain to further his education, and two years later he joined Mavra of the Portuguese league.
In 2017, Zhang Yuan returned to the Chinese Super League, joining Tianjin Quanjian, the most rustic team at the time. During his time with Quanjian, Zhang Yuan was selected for the U22 national team and went on to score his national team sub goal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
After the dissolution of Tianjin Tianhai (Tianjin Quanjian) club in 2020, Zhang Yuan was invited by Ding Yong to join the Shenzhen team. After joining the Shenzhen team, Zhang Yuan quickly became a mainstay in the team's midfield. Zhang Yuan performed like a fish out of water for Shenzhen and won the reuse of several coaches, as he could play as a forward, back, defender and striker.
This season, Zhang Yuan has already scored two goals and added an assist for Shenzhen, and despite the club's serious salary arrears problem, it hasn't affected his playing form.
Due to the club's debts, the Shenzhen team is now at the point where it could be disbanded at any time. Nowadays, most of the main players of the Shenzhen team are looking for their next home. Once the club is willing to accept them, they are free to join. For the Chengdu team, it is a big loophole to be able to sign a study abroad international player free this summer.
We can see the ambition of Chengdu Rongcheng FC as they go for next year's AFC Champions League from a series of recent signings. Here, we also hope that new signing Andrigo can be Romulo's replacement and help Chengdu achieve their goal of hitting the top three in the league this season.
