Since the beginning of July.
China Super League (soccer league)
The door to the league's summer transfer season has opened. What was originally seen as a golden opportunity to strengthen the lineup has been particularly quiet under the dual pressures of epidemic prevention and control and the Chinese soccer team's advancement to the Round of 12. So far, only Wuhan has announced that Brazilian striker Anderson Lopez has joined the team, while the Chinese Super League (CSL) foreign invitational aid market has remained unsettled, with most teams choosing to wait and see what happens or adjusting their reinforcement strategies. At the same time, the number of departures during the transfer period is quite high, and such changes are inadvertently reshaping this season's title race and relegation pattern.
In the past, the second transfer was crucial for the teams, and its importance was no less than the preparation for the beginning of the season. After half a season of competition, teams have a clearer understanding of their own situation and positioning in the league, and at this time, reinforcements are more targeted and purposeful. Examples abound of second turn reinforcements to boost strength for the second half of the league. However, this season's situation is very different. First of all, the epidemic prevention and control has complicated the entry of foreign players, such as Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, although the introduction of foreign aid has been initiated, but the new aid has not yet arrived. This reflects the fact that even if the team confirms the desired foreign aid, bringing them to China requires cumbersome procedures and a long time, and the quarantine observation after entering the country is also a factor that cannot be ignored.
On the other hand, the attitude of foreign aiders towards the Chinese Super League is also changing. Due to the salary restriction, those foreign aiders who harbor the dream of "seeking gold" are afraid that they can only go back with disappointment. In addition to the strict control of the epidemic, many foreign aiders are less interested in coming to play in the Chinese Super League, and even those who have contracts are planning to leave. Nowadays, teams are more cautious about bringing in foreign aid, and the interest of foreign aiders in joining the Chinese Super League is diminishing, so the whole transfer market has fundamentally changed, and the transfer of domestic players may become the main theme of the Chinese Super League transfer market in the future.
In addition, the 's advancement to the Asian Round of 12 of the World Cup qualifying tournament means that the next will make way for it. The Football Association held a meeting in Shanghai to confirm that the original 30-round will be reduced to 22 rounds, with the first 14 rounds to be completed in mid-August before the trains, and the remaining 8 rounds to be played at the end of the year. Instead of a knockout system, the final 8 rounds of the league will be divided into a championship and relegation group based on the results of the first 14 rounds, with a two-legged playoff to determine the final standings.
Against this backdrop, teams have naturally become more cautious in their approach to attracting new recruits. Adjustments to the schedule and format of matches have made it necessary for teams to consider a number of issues before signing foreign aiders, such as the quarantine observation of foreign aiders after they enter the country, as well as the length of short-term foreign aid signings brought about by leagues that are played across the year. In short, if foreign aiders are used for a limited number of matches in the , the need to bring them in is greatly reduced.
As a matter of fact, not only the teams are taking a wait-and-see attitude after the restructuring of the tournament system, but also the players themselves. Foreign aiders who are interested in joining the league will consider these issues, and once they enter the long break, it will become very troublesome for them to return home and come back again, while staying in the country for a long time will also create psychological problems. This is one of the reasons why many foreign aiders choose to leave the , especially in the World Cup year, and foreign aiders with dreams of joining the national team are more willing to maintain their status in the stable league format rather than staying in the and waiting for the to prepare for the World Qualification Tournament, which affects both their athleticism and possibly the call-ups of the national team's head coaches.
It is foreseeable that the number of new foreign aiders in this summer transfer period will not be too many and the quality will not be too high, and there may even be a trend of more returning foreign aiders than joining foreign aiders. In addition to Paulinho and Talisca, who have already terminated their contracts with Guangzhou, there are also many foreign aiders who have already left or are planning to leave the , such as Arnautovic, who has just participated in the UEFA Europa League and is planning to leave the Shanghai seaport, and foreign aiders such as Kim Min-Ja and Augusto of Beijing Guoan are also frequently caught up in the rumors of returning to the team. Augusto hasn't returned to the team since the end of last season, and Beijing Guoan's other Brazilian foreign aid player Fernando hasn't returned to China, so it seems that their story with the Chinese Super League is about to come to an end.
Undoubtedly, Beijing Guoan has become the most affected team, with the possibility of adding high-level foreign aid minimal, the strength of the team is clearly affected, which also directly affects their goal of competing for the title in the this season. In fact, not only Beijing Guoan, this transfer period intends to leave the foreign aid is not a few, and those who have not yet entered the foreign aid can successfully return to the team is also unknown. For example, Henan Songshan Dragons have already welcomed back Karanga, but Ivo's return date is yet to be determined, all of which will have a considerable impact on the strength of the corresponding teams.
However, in this context, if any team can make substantial progress in the introduction of foreign aid, its competitiveness may produce a qualitative leap. After all, the competition in the Chinese Super League is ultimately a contest of foreign aid, and the impact of having or not having foreign aid and having a few foreign aiders on a team's strength may be from quantitative to qualitative. Therefore, the uncertainty about the entry and exit of foreign aid is also affecting the title and relegation pattern of this season's , and it can be said that the trend of this season's league is full of unknowns. (Bao Wenlong)
