Shenhua's four consecutive matches were scoreless, with three draws and one loss, but they are still in the third place of the league with 19 points, keeping the gap with the leader Shanghai Harbor. Apart from Shanghai Seaport, the other teams have no obvious highlights. Chengdu Rongcheng won only five of their ten matches, while Jinmen Tigers drew six and lost four. The overall level of the Chinese Super League has declined this season, especially the performance of the leaders. Shenhua is stuck in a bottleneck, which is also related to their squad configuration. Fortunately, the next three matches are against weaker teams.
Shenhua's season is seen as a renewal, with players in the 99-00 age group maturing. Among them, Jiang Shenglong improved rapidly and his explosive power showed his strength. In the match against Henan, he saved the day and equalized the score. Wu Jingui placed him in the center forward position, a strategy that won the applause of the fans. Jiang Shenglong is gradually gaining confidence. Zhu Chenjie and Jiang Shenglong were once a famous center-back partnership.
Jiang Shenglong has had an up and down career. in the 2020 season, he was loaned out to Tianjin Jinmen Tigers due to a lack of opportunities. in the 2021 season, he moved to Chongqing to train. Upon his return last season, his performance was unsatisfactory, but this year he has exploded into the limelight, becoming a windfall for Zhu Chenjie. As a center back pairing, they eliminate the need for Shenhua to rely on foreign center backs. Jiang Shenglong is physically impressive and plays the role of more of a tackling defender. Their tacit understanding with Zhu Chenjie is not only the hope of Shenhua, but also the future of the national soccer team.
The national team will play two warm-up matches this June. Jiang Shenglong was undoubtedly selected and is expected to partner with Zhu Chenjie to recreate the Shenhua center back combination. Bassogo returned from injury and had a good overall performance, with the wingers breaking and passing online. As a foreign aid in the golden dollar soccer period, Basogo is still an excellent foreign aid although his form has declined. With Bassogo's return, Shenhua's five foreign aiders are together for the first time and are really starting to impact their performance.
After 9 games, Wu Jingui decided to substitute Yan Xinli. As a foreigner, Yan Xinli performed poorly. In the future, Shenhua's foreign aid combination will include an attacking trident of Mallet, Bassogo and Teixeira, with Amadou as a midfield sweeper. Shenhua's side strength is gradually improving, together with veterans Yu Hanchao and Cao Yunding, Shenhua's lineup is getting deeper and deeper. It is difficult for Shenhua to win the title this year, and the top three places are not out of reach. Only by signing Dai Weijun in the second transfer window can the final piece of the puzzle be completed.
According to Shenhua's plan, there will not be a large number of signings in the middle of the season, and there is still a shortage of foreigners. However, Malele has not reached an unusable level, and Bassogo will carry the goal-scoring burden upon his return. Shenhua will have a large number of national players temporarily away from the team on international match days, and the 20-day interval in June is not favorable for Shenhua, which may face a shortage of training players. But it also provides more time for foreigners, especially Teixeira needs to find his form as soon as possible to become a qualified 10 foreigners.
