Only a few days left will usher in the winter transfer window of the Chinese Super League, however, Shandong Taishan Club has quietly completed a heavy signing, which indicates that the prelude to the new season is about to open.
Shandong Taishan have not only brought in Brazilian senior midfielder Zeca, but also recently announced that they have joined forces with Georgian midfielder Kazashvili, who is also a talented attacker up front and specializes in key winger roles.
Taishan head coach Choi Kang-hee is known for his two-winged tactics, where he is good at launching attacks from the side and threatening the enemy goal with the height advantage of the high center forward. The winger and the high center forward are the core of his tactical system.
The signing of Zeca was to address the team's lack of height in the forward line. Although Pato had played in Indonesia, he failed to prove himself and has been discarded by Choi Kang-hee. Pato left the team before the AFC Champions League group stage was over to return to Brazil to heal.
With the official departure of veteran Fellaini, Taishan lost the last high point of their forward line. The addition of Zeca is meant to fill the void left by Fellaini, while the arrival of Kazashvili is meant to improve the team's side impact and passing accuracy.
In fact, Taishan has no shortage of wingers, and Cressan is one of the best in this position. Chen Pu and Liu Binbin, two international wingers, as well as the naturalized player Fernando, who is known as the "little motorcycle", have all contributed a lot to the team.
Cressan solid starting position seems to be unshakeable, the addition of Kazashvili, perhaps signaling that Chen Pu or Liu Binbin in one of the team will lose the starting seat in Taishan. Although Liu Binbin and Chen Pu repeatedly selected for the national team, but the performance did not meet expectations, Liu Binbin's lack of offensive power, defensive short board, Chen Pu is young and inexperienced, in the national team mistakes one after another.
After returning from the national team, Liu Binbin and Chen Pu did not fully recover their form, and Choi Kang-hee therefore did not include them in the starting lineup for the AFC Champions League group stage. Next season, Kazashvili will probably replace one of them as the new starter.
The arrival of Kazashvili has also cast a shadow over Fernando's future. Next year, Delgado will become a Chinese Super League (CSL) in-form player, and according to the rules of the Football Association, CSL teams can only have one non-blood naturalized player. Delgado's value to Taishan cannot be overstated.
The addition of Zeca and Kazashvili will bring a sea change to Shandong Taishan's starting lineup, with some players facing adjustments to their starting positions. Let's wait and see who will lose their starting positions in the new season...
