Chinese soccer is currently lacking in midfield talent, and the Chinese Super League is clearly lacking in creativity and control.
The reason for our team's lack of offense is that in the Chinese Super League, foreign aiders often occupy the core position in the midfield, and local players are limited in their room for growth.
However, with the end of the golden dollar era, local players are gradually getting more chances to appear, and a young generation of midfielders have emerged.
Shanghai Shenhua's Dai Weijun is one of the highly anticipated players.
Unlike many players of his age, Dai Weijun went to England with his father at an early age and thrived under the English youth training system.
His style is European, imaginative and confident, and he has played for the Wolves ladder in the Premier League, excelling with the U21 and U23 teams.
The skill of long-distance shooting is even more praiseworthy. After Dai Weijun returned to China, he joined the Shenzhen team and played alongside Jintro and other stars, and was regarded as the "local Jintro" by the fans.
The Shenzhen team helped him grow, and he was selected for the national team and played against Japan in the Round of 12, showing confidence and creativity on the field.
Fans believe that with enough time, Dai Weijun can work well with his teammates and release more energy to become the core of the national team.
However, Dai Weijun has recently hit a bottleneck, leaving the Shenzhen team due to salary arrears and moving to Shanghai Shenhua, but his performance has not been satisfactory.
Started just six times in 17 games, contributing one assist, mostly coming off the bench in the second half.
The question of Dai Weijun's position at Shenhua, apart from the similarity with the national team, is also important for one reason - other players have performed better.
The player is 24-year-old local midfielder Xu Haoyang, known as "little Qi Hong".
Xu Haoyang also comes from Genbao Base, and is a leading player in the 99-00 ladder.
He played for Chinese Super League champions Wuhan Sanzhen and was highly rated by the team's midfielder Stancho.
This season, he was recalled by Shenhua and had an eye-catching performance, appearing in 30 games for the team, making 22 starts, scoring one goal and contributing four assists.
Had it not been for the Asian Games call-up, Xu Haoyang's numbers might have been even more impressive.
Although Xu Haoyang is not as talented as Dai Weijun, he has a simpler style and seems to fit in better with the Shenhua team.
It is expected to see if Xu Haoyang can take his place in the national team in the future.
