When Taishan lost 0-3 to Mariners on the road in the sixth round of the AFC Champions League group stage on Dec. 15, people couldn't help but marvel at the resilience of this team. Nevertheless, they were lucky to occupy the second position in the group. With the draw for the top 16 of the AFC Champions League revealed on Dec. 28 and the first round of the knockout stage scheduled for Feb. 13, which coincides with the fourth day of the Chinese New Year, Taishan's future remains full of expectations.
However, in the AFC Champions League group stage and the FA Cup final, Taishan was exposed to problems such as a lack of attacking power, a disorganized midfield, and an aging backline. If the team hopes to make a breakthrough next year, it must strengthen its lineup and upgrade its bench. Introducing internal and external reinforcements has been a top priority. It is reported that foreigners Zeca, Kaza and Shenzhen team back Waqaso are expected to join, if everything goes well, the team is still competitive.
The end of the year is the prime time to bring in internal and external reinforcements. The German Transfer Market Network updated the value of Chinese Super League players and the total value of clubs at the end of 2023 on December 15th. Affected by the environment, the overall value of the Chinese Super League dropped by 20.75 million euros, shrinking by 14.7% compared with the previous term. The age of the first team is the main reason for the decline in value.
In terms of foreign aid, Harbor foreign aid Oscar topped the list with 5 million euros, followed by Vargas with 4 million euros. Taishan's foreigners Cressan and Lennardo, who is on loan to Zhejiang, tied for third place with €3.5 million, with Lennardo's value also rising sharply due to his outstanding performance this season. Romulo, Aziz and Serginho followed.
In terms of local players, Wu Lei is firmly in the first place with 1.5 million euros, Jiang Guangtai and Jiang Shenglong are tied for the second place with 700,000 euros, Zhang Yuning, Dai Weijun and Zhu Chenjie are tied for the fourth place with 600,000 euros, Wei Shihao and Wang Shangyuan are tied for the sixth place with 550,000 euros, and Xie Pengfei, Chen Pu and Liu Yang are tied for the eighth place with 500,000 euros. Taishan's two international players are worth a lot of money with their outstanding performance. In addition, the value of players such as Jadson, Pato, Liu Binbin, Fernando and Huang Zhenyu has also been reflected, and Fellaini, who left the team, is worth 500,000 euros.
In terms of total club value, Shanghai Port ranked first in the Chinese Super League with 16.35 million euros, Zhejiang ranked second and third with 10.58 million euros, Shanghai Shenhua ranked fourth with 10.3 million euros, Shandong Taishan ranked fourth, Wuhan Sanzhen and Chengdu Rongcheng ranked seventh, and Beijing Guoan ranked eighth with 8.3 million euros.
As you can see, Shenhua winning the FA Cup this season is no surprise in terms of player and club value, and Taishan's three runner-up finishes are well deserved. Zhejiang and Wuhan's participation in the AFC Champions League is also a reflection of their value and strength. As of now, the AFC has 189 players worth more than 1 million euros, including 72 Japanese players, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the total. The only Chinese player is Wu Lei (1.5 million euros).
