On March 22, Oriental Sports Daily reported on the latest developments at Seaport, revealing that new striker Gustavo is about to make his debut, while Vargas may take on a heavier attacking role.
Seaport signed former Jeonbuk Hyundai center forward Gustavo in the winter window, whose superb back skills and header ability is exactly what the team needs. However, the new star's path to joining the team was not smooth, and he was unfortunately injured shortly after joining the team.
After a break for the Super Cup and the first round of the league, Gustavo's condition has improved significantly. He began his recovery training a week before the match against Zhejiang, but the team chose to let him continue his recovery during the break and did not risk taking him to Hangzhou for insurance purposes.
Gustavo revealed in an interview that he will be ready for the league which restarts at the end of the month. His return will undoubtedly bring new changes to the offensive end of the harbor. With the return of the international players, apart from Wu Lei who may take up a starting position, the personnel adjustments in other positions still need to be further observed.
Meanwhile, Li Ang has withdrawn from national team training due to a thigh semimembranosus muscle strain. The prospects for his league comeback are uncertain. Xu Xin likewise missed Wednesday's open training session, while captain Oscar remains in a separate recovery session and appears to be in better shape than the first two.
For wide man Vargas, he has had an up and down 2022 season, not breaking his goal drought until September last season, having come close to leaving the team due to a falling out with Javier.
Vargas still hasn't been able to complete a full game since the start of the new season, but Seaport and coach Muscat have high hopes for him, judging by the fact that the team has allowed him to take over the No. 10 jersey and has given him back-to-back starts.
"As a coach, when choosing a lineup or players, I don't think too much about where they come from, whether they are foreigners or local players. Everything is based on the whole team." Muscat also elaborated on his principles of hiring when answering a question on the use of foreign aid by Chinese Super League teams.
In fact, Vargas has more opportunities to contribute to the team as the season progresses. Seaport will also be looking for him to step up and be a key piece in the front end of the team's offense when it counts.
