At the end of November, the capital's green battlefield ushered in a new chapter. Beijing Guoan club officially announced that the team's frontline general, Bakambu from Congo, has completed the contract release procedures. This signifies that the foreign players who helped Guoan win the FA Cup on the same day three years ago have all bid farewell to the team.
Guoan's official social media channels have carefully embellished Bakambu's parting words, while the comment section is full of praise and lingering love. More media exposure, Bakambu left the team to give up three months of salary, this move for the harsh winter in the national security to save a lot of expenses.
Some fans have pointed out that Bakambu has always been the most punctual foreign aid to return to the team during his playing days at Guoan. The league is affected by the epidemic, foreign aiders in order to maintain the status and reunite with their families, choose to leave the team is reasonable. And how can a player in his prime who leaves an impression of professionalism, self-discipline, dazzling statistics, and affection not become the meat and potatoes of the soccer world?
In fact, at the beginning of the previous year, a strong link was created between Bakambu and La Liga giants Barcelona. Bakambu had even traveled to Spain to discuss the details of his contract, but disagreements between the Barcelona hierarchy ultimately led to the story coming to an abrupt end.
The Premier League landscape has changed drastically since January 2020, and so has Barcelona. However, the memory of Bakambu is still fresh in their minds. In light of Aguero's heart problems, Barcelona have once again set their sights on Bakambu, citing him as a "very promising option".
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, Bakambu's old boss before he came to the Chinese Super League, as well as a number of teams in the J-League, are all eyeing Bakambu. In terms of popularity, the "Happy Boy" will have the "right of first refusal" and may even join a prospective Chinese Super League team.
It is reported that a Chinese League One team, which is expected to be promoted to next year's Chinese Super League, is interested in bringing in Bakambu. Currently, the top two teams in the Central League standings are Wuhan Sanzhen and Meizhou Hakka, and with the points leading the way, the two teams could lock up their Super League qualification in the next round at the earliest. Chengdu Rongcheng and Zhejiang are in the third and fourth places, and are also expected to succeed in the Super League through the play-offs.
Looking at the current points in the relegation group of the Chinese Super League, Dalian Ren and Qingdao are at greater risk. Approaching the restart of the league, Qingdao's problems with funding have finally erupted, and after more than eight months of unpaid wages, it's easy to see where they stand in the standings.
On the surface, Qingdao's problem is the problem of unpaid wages that all Chinese Super League teams face, but in reality, it's like what appears to be a sapling, whose roots have long been spreading and growing in the ground, deeply rooted in this soil.
They are not like the Chongqing team, which has already announced its new logo, and they are not like the Hebei team, which believes that the time of dawn will come. Qingdao's helplessness has to be hinted at by the fact that they are "out of the league" and "not entering the competition".
Taking out the still-vibrant teams and counting the Premier League teams whose problems are so severe that they see no hope of solving them, we can already turn our attention to the top five in the Central League standings. Nantong Zhiyun is in fifth place with one game less, and a fourth consecutive win over Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic in the 30th round would put them just four points behind third-place Chengdu and fourth-place Zhejiang!
If the existing problems in the Chinese Super League team can not be solved, we can not rule out the idea of "Central A team replacement" again. However, the team that is expected to be ranked in the top of the Central League can not fully count on the possibility of replacement, after all, the Zhejiang team's lessons are still fresh in our minds.
