With the new season of the Chinese Super League approaching, a radical change is about to take place. It is reported that from next year, the Chinese Super League foreign aid policy will usher in a major adjustment of "Note 6 on 5", that is, each team can register six foreign aid, and allows a maximum of five foreign aid in a game. This change provides a great opportunity for many Chinese Super League clubs to expand their lineups. The latest news reveals that Shandong Taishan has already started to select a sixth foreign aid player, a move that not only recognizes the strength of the reform, but also adds to the team's high hopes in the AFC Champions League.
Currently, Taishan's foreign aid camp already boasts three tough players in Pato, Cressan and Jadson. With the opening of the transfer window, Kazaishvili has signed for the team and is expected to integrate quickly, while Brazilian striker Zeca has also emerged as a potential joiner. This will give Taishan a luxury squad of three strikers, a front man and a center back.
On the current situation, if the next season of the Chinese Super League allows registration of the sixth foreign aid, Shandong Taishan most urgent need to strengthen the back position. In this season's game, Taishan's original main back Sun Junhao absent for some reason, resulting in Li Yuanyi, Liao Lisheng and Huang Zhengyu and other local players to take turns on the post. Compared with foreign aid, local players in the strength of the obvious gap, so the introduction of high-level foreign back become the key to improve the strength of the team.
As a matter of fact, Shandong Taishan is quite skillful in selecting foreign backs. In the past, the imported players such as Ximang and Usao are known for their cost-effective performance, and Sun Junhao has consolidated the strength of the team with his outstanding performance as the MVP of the Chinese Super League. If we can introduce more powerful foreign aid in this position, Taishan's lineup will be more perfect, and will be more confident to face those opponents who have adapted to the reform of foreign aid quota.
However, given Shandong Taishan's investment strategy, even if they have locked in a candidate, these names may still struggle to excite fans, perhaps still favoring cost-effective options like Kazaishvili. Currently, foreign backs rumored to be in the mix with Chinese Super League teams, such as Cameroonian international Coman and Nantes backline players, are also leaning towards the value-for-money route.
