But even so, Guoan brought in eight new players, and the first-team staff is still seriously overstaffed. The club could only loan some of the players still under contract to other teams. Former National Olympic team goalkeeper Guo Quanbo was loaned to Meizhou Hakka, while potential stars Cao Yongsheng and Tian Yuda, who just joined the team in the last two seasons, were loaned to Changchun Yatai.
Similar to Guoan, Taishan's first team is full for the season. In this case, Taishan FC loaned eight young players to Jinan Xingzhou Brothers.
In terms of foreign aid, Taishan, which already has seven foreign aiders, not only did not have the chance to bring in new ones, but also cleared out the surplus ones. Brazilian striker Lennardo, who was loaned to K-League side Ulsan Hyundai last season, became the club's first target of the purge.
Lennardo reportedly returned to China recently, but instead of meeting with Taishan FC, he went to Changchun Yatai for a trial. If there are no major incidents, Lennardo will play in Yatai's jersey in this season's Chinese Super League.
Changchun Yatai are not a traditional Chinese Super League powerhouse, but they do have an illustrious history.In the 2007 season, under the leadership of renowned coach Gao Hongbo, Yatai beat Beijing Guoan to win the Chinese Super League title. Although they were unfortunate to enter the Chinese First Division in the 2018 season, they returned to the Chinese Super League two years later as the Chinese First Division champions.
Changchun Yatai is the biggest dark horse in the 2021 season of the Chinese Super League. Under the leadership of coach Chen Yang, they finished fourth in the league table and managed to enter the AFC Champions League. Although last season's league results were unsatisfactory, Yatai didn't give up their pursuit of good results, so they brought in a number of new recruits in the winter transfer window to strengthen their lineup.
In addition to the loans of Cao Yongjing, Tian Yuda and Lennardo, the Yatai club has also brought in local players such as Abdulhamidi, Xu Hoyang and Liu Yun. Bringing in some strong aid to the Yatai team, their league goal for the new season is no longer relegation, their ultimate goal is to finish in the top four like they did in the 2021 season. Whether the club can achieve this goal depends on coach Chen Yang's ability to make the most of these new assistance.
