The prosperity of the Chinese Super League (CSL) has been deteriorating under the impact of the bursting of the golden dollar soccer bubble and three consecutive years of epidemics. In this situation, many Chinese Super League clubs are facing financial difficulties, and the performance of their teams is also declining. Guangzhou, once the eight-time champions, regrettably fell into the first division last season, while another team in the same city, Guangzhou City, was not spared from disbandment despite successful relegation.
The demise of many Chinese Super League clubs has led to the emergence of many "big fish" in the winter transfer market this year. Taking this opportunity, the Chinese Super League newcomers Wuhan Sanzhen, Beijing Guoan, Shandong Taishan and other traditional strong teams have increased reinforcements. Wuhan Sanzhen brought in three former Guangzhou internationals, including Wei Shihao, Yan Dinghao and Li Yang, while Beijing Guoan introduced Han Jiaqi, Yang Liyu, Fang Hao and Feng Boxuan. Although Taishan's reinforcements this season are not as large as those of Sanzhen and Guoan, they have also brought in new reinforcements such as Tong Lei, Sun Guowen, Hu Jinghang and Fernando, which has significantly improved the team's strength.
With the addition of new recruits, Guoan and Taishan's first-team staffs have swelled and have had to clear some of their fringe players. In Guoan, before the opening of the winter transfer window, the club has announced the departure of six local players such as Yang, Jin Taiyan and Jin Pengxiang, as well as the departure of two foreign aiders, Memisevic and Daburo. However, even so, Guoan first-team personnel is still seriously overcrowded, can only be part of the contract period of the players still on loan to other teams. Goalkeeper Guo Quanbo was loaned to Meizhou Hakka, while Cao Yongjing and Tian Yuda, two new potential stars, were loaned to Changchun Yatai.
Similar to Guoan, Taishan's first team is overcrowded this season. For this reason, the Taishan club rented eight young players from Jinan Xingzhou. In terms of foreign aid, Taishan, which already has seven foreign aiders, not only has no time to bring in new ones, but also has to clean up the redundant ones. Brazilian striker Leonardo, who was rented to K-League team Ulsan Hyundai last year, became the first target of the club's cleanup.
Leonardo reportedly returned to China recently, but instead of meeting with Taishan FC, he traveled to Changchun Yatai for a trial. Unsurprisingly, he will be wearing the Yatai jersey in this season's Chinese Super League. Although Changchun Yatai are not a traditional Chinese Super League side, they have had a glorious history; in 2007, under coach Gao Hongbo, Yatai won the Chinese Super League title at Beijing Guoan. Although they were unlucky to be relegated to the Chinese League in 2018, they returned to the Premier League two years later as Chinese League champions.
In the 2021 season, Changchun Yatai became the biggest dark horse in the Chinese Super League, finishing fourth in the league under the leadership of Coach Chen Yang and successfully advancing to the AFC Champions League. Despite last season's poor league results, Yatai did not give up their pursuit of good results, so they brought in several new players in the winter transfer window to strengthen their squad. In addition to Cao Yongjing, Tian Yuda and Leonardo on loan, Yatai brought in a number of local players such as Abdu Hemiti, Xu Haoyang and Liu Yun. The league goal for the new season is no longer relegation, but to hit the top four in the table like in the 2021 season. Whether the club can achieve this goal depends on whether coach Chen Yang can make full use of these new assistance...
