On July 3, Chinese Super League (CSL) powerhouse Wuhan officially announced that they have successfully brought in Brazilian striker, Anderson Lopez, 28, formerly of Japanese J1 League side Gonzaga Sapporo. The summer transfer window for this season's Chinese Super League, Chinese League 1 and Chinese League 2 opened from July 1 to 30, according to an announcement made by the Chinese Football Association at the beginning of the year. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, club investment restrictions and the tight schedule of the Chinese Super League and other factors, during this transfer window, the possibility of a large sum of money to attract aid is extremely low, like Lopes such transfer cases will not be common, this summer's domestic soccer transfer market has become a foregone conclusion of the coldness of the domestic soccer transfer market.
News about Lopez coming to China and undergoing quarantine had been circulating as early as last month. It is reported that the Wuhan team was prepared for this transfer. Since last season, the team due to Rafael's injury and retirement and other issues, in the offensive end of the suffering of "powerless". Although Evra, Baptiston in the side of the trustworthy, but in the center position, Akin's strength still seems to be insufficient. In the case of Rafael can not return to the team, the team finally contributed to the transfer of Lopez, in order to strengthen the strength of the center.
Lopes, who will turn 28 years old in September, stands at 1.85 meters tall and comes from the Brazilian Avaí youth system.In July 2016, he landed in Asian football and was loaned to Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the Japanese J1 League. In one and a half seasons, he made 48 appearances for the team, scoring 13 goals.In February 2018, Lopes was loaned to South Korea's K1 League side Seoul FC, where he made 31 appearances in all competitions over the course of the year, contributing seven goals and five assists.
In January 2019, Lopez joined Japanese J1 League side Hokkaido Gonzaga Sapporo, scoring 25 goals in 59 appearances in all competitions over his first two seasons, while contributing six assists. This season, Lopez has made 14 appearances in the J-League, scoring 12 goals, which places him at the top of the scoring charts, while also scoring two goals in two cup matches.
From the actual data and information, Lopez is exactly the kind of talent that Wuhan is in dire need of. With the CFA strictly enforcing the policy of limiting clubs' investment and players' salary, the cost of Lopez's transfer will never be overspent, and may even be far lower than the club's previous introduction of strong reinforcements.
However, most Chinese Super League clubs have struggled to find good value foreigners during the opening of this transfer window. The reason is obvious. On the one hand, the domestic professional soccer world is far less attractive to quality foreign aid than it used to be, due to the impact of the epidemic, which continues to spread globally, restricted international travel conditions, and strict international and domestic epidemic prevention and quarantine policies. From Talisker, Paulinho confirmed to leave the Chinese Super League, Arnautovic's return to Europe is a foregone conclusion, Augusto, Bakambu delayed return to Guoan and other situations, some of the Chinese Super League clubs are not only difficult to replenish the new foreign aid, and even faced with the loss of the original risk of high-quality foreign aid as the season progresses.
Another reason why the domestic professional soccer scene, especially the Chinese Super League (CSL) transfer market, is destined to be cold this summer is that the situation in the CSL has been largely clarified this season after the Chinese team advanced to the Qatar World Preliminary Asian Round of 12. After playing the remaining nine rounds of the first phase at a super-high density from July to August, the league will be temporarily suspended in September, October and November to assist the national soccer team in preparing for, and participating in, the 12-team tournament. And apart from Asia, the World Qualifiers in the other WFC continental divisions will also enter a crucial phase. European players like Arnautovic are eager to represent their national teams in the World Cup, and their reluctance to return to the Chinese Super League is understandable. From another point of view, the Chinese Super League for two consecutive seasons to adopt the centralized system and greatly reduce the schedule, in fact, including the clubs and other parties to bring a certain loss, the league's brand image has also caused a negative impact. In addition to competing for the title and relegation, perhaps the general mentality of most Chinese Super League clubs at this moment is to be able to play a stable Chinese Super League matches at the end of the season. They naturally do not want to make more meaningless investment, adding to their own burden.
It is worth noting that three clubs, Guangzhou, Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Seaport, are all sending young or substitute lineups to play in the AFC Champions League this season. Although the teams' poor performance will have a negative impact on the next Chinese Super League's quest to qualify for the AFC Champions League in the coming seasons, these clubs have more than enough to cope with the multiple fronts in the face of such a difficult season. In terms of the AFC Champions League qualification and group stage process, Seaport was eliminated early, while Beijing and Guangzhou lost all their matches except for Guoan, who barely managed to draw with United City of the Philippines in the first round, leaving the two teams out of the group stage with little suspense.
For these clubs, can with the existing power to play the end of the Chinese Super League, the Football Association Cup competition, this season even more successful. There is also a point, by the national football team to fight the 12 strong match impact, this season's super league face across the year end, really, the clubs have to face with foreign aid, internal aid exchanges "overdue" cooperation matters. After all, most of the players of the single-season cooperation period are to the end of the year for the time node. From this point of view, the clubs are also difficult to introduce more new aid, self-seeking trouble.
This season, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and the Preparatory Group of Professional League (PGPL), in order to revitalize the flow of local talents, have purposely relaxed the rules of quota restriction for the introduction of players in the three tiers of professional leagues. Among them, each team in the Chinese Super League can bring in a total of 8 general local players throughout the season, and there is no quota for bringing in U21 local players. The Chinese League A and Chinese League B can introduce local players without quota. However, so far, in the transfer market of 3-level clubs, only the introduction of former international footballer Xiao Zhi by Qingdao Hainiu in the B League is more visible. However, from the perspective of this year's soccer environment, similar transfers will not be common. In the context of the league's "turmoil", clubs may pay more attention to internal excavation and timely exercise of young players promoted from their own teams.
