The focus on domestic players furthering their education overseas has never waned. Given the limitations of the overall standard of domestic players, very few players have been able to go abroad, let alone those who have made it to the top leagues. Whenever rumors of players going abroad for further studies or such rumors came out, it would stir up a great deal of excitement. Nowadays, the momentum of domestic players going abroad for further studies is far less than the time when Wu Lei and Li Lei stepped out of the country side by side. In the mainstream leagues, only Wu Shao Cong, a young international player who plays in the Turkish Super League, rarely gets a chance to play. The rest of the players are either in marginal leagues or lower leagues, so it is difficult to be used as a reference.
Among the young generation of international players, Dai Weijun is one of the few domestic players who have been able to step into the mainstream league to further their education. Having spent time in England's youth camps, Dai quickly showed strength beyond his peers when he returned to China, and was an early starter in the national soccer team's starting midfield. Dai's excellent escaping skills and confidence in making big plays, which many Chinese players lack, have made him highly regarded. Although Dai Weijun has been rumored to study abroad many times, the insistence of the Shenzhen team has prevented him from doing so.
According to domestic media, Dai Weijun had missed out on a chance to play for a Ligue 1 team simply because of his contractual entanglements with Shenzhen. Meanwhile, a Belgian team expressed interest in him, but with the European transfer window closed, Dai Weijun is out of the picture for the time being. The rumored Ligue 1 team might be Auxerre, a soon-to-be-relegated team that has a track record of bringing in Chinese players, thanks to the Chinese background behind it. The domestic company hopes to give back to Chinese soccer by investing in European clubs, but Auxerre has yet to produce a successful domestic player here.
Although there is a greater possibility that the Shenzhen team will be disbanded, regardless of whether it is disbanded or not, Dai Weijun will find it difficult to realize his desire to study abroad this year. If the Shenzhen team is not disbanded, he still needs to fulfill his contract with the team, even if he faces the problem of salary arrears, and if the Football Association does not restore his free agency, he still needs to play for the Shenzhen team. After the dissolution of the team, Dai Weijun will need to quickly find a new owner. If he goes abroad to study, he will have to wait until the summer window opens, and then he will not be able to play until at least August, which is obviously not worth the loss.
In addition, this year's Asian Games will make it difficult for Dai Weijun to miss any of the training and matches as a core member of the U24 Asian Games team, and the Asian Games will also take up some of his time playing for his club. As a result, Dai Weijun is less likely to study abroad this year. He is likely to leave China in the winter window next January, and it would be more appropriate for him to study abroad at the age of 24. All in all, Dai Weijun has suffered a huge loss and wasted a lot of time over his contract, but he is still looking forward to a bright future.
