Shanghai Seaport's performance this season is like a sudden hurricane. In the first 21 rounds of Super League matches, they accumulated 52 points with a brilliant record of 16 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss, leading the Super League table with an absolute advantage of 14 points, and the trophy of the championship seems to be hanging on the branch.
New head coach Javier has put his trust in players like Wu Lei and Issa Caron, while Matias Vargas and Marcus Pinko seem to have been left out in the cold. However, it is not the two foreign strikers or Li Shenglong, who has been on the bench all year, who is the most embarrassing part of the Hong Kong squad, but a young striker who carries the high hopes of the national team.
The young player is 21-year-old Liu Zhuyun. Last season, Liu Zhuyun played 20 matches for Shanghai Hong Kong, contributing 3 goals and 1 assist despite getting only 6 starts, earning him wide recognition. Everyone expected him to play steadily in the new season, but the reality gave him a hard time.
According to the data, Liu Zhuyun only got one chance to play in the first 21 rounds of the Super League so far this season, and it was a substitute appearance at the end of the game. The 21-year-old SIPG starlet seems to have been reduced to a fixture in Javier's tactical blueprint.
Despite Liu Zhuyun's good form, he is a master of speed, ball control, passing and shooting, and has a lot of creativity in front of goal. 2020 season, when he first joined the first team, he was praised by Oscar, and was regarded as having unlimited potential. Despite his limited playing time, he has contributed 8 goals and 1 assist for Shanghai, and his talent on the attacking end should not be underestimated. It is worth mentioning that his technical style is quite similar to Wu Lei's, and he was once regarded as Wu Lei's successor.
It was with his outstanding performance at Shanghai Seaport that Liu Zhu Run was called up to the U22, U23 and even the adult national team, becoming a star of hope in the eyes of the fans. However, only two years later, this future star of Chinese soccer has been left out in the cold in Shanghai. If he can't be utilized in Shanghai Seaport, a transfer might be a wise choice for him.
