Our soccer world is facing a serious shortage of midfield talent.
The Premier League has underperformed in terms of creativity and control.
Such a predicament stems from the fact that foreigners occupy a central position in midfield in the Chinese Super League.
As a result, our league struggles to produce a true midfield core.
However, as the golden dollar era came to an end, local players' chances to play in the Chinese Super League gradually increased.
A group of young midfielders gives us new hope.
Shanghai Shenhua's midfielder Dai Weijun is the subject of much anticipation.
Unlike many Chinese players of his age, Dai Weijun went to England with his father at an early age.
Under the English youth training system, he grew up to become a midfielder with a European style.
He is more imaginative, plays with more confidence and plays for the Wolves ladder in the Premier League.
Particularly good with the U21s and U23s, especially with his accurate long range shots.
Dai Weijun then returned to the Chinese Super League, joining Shenzhen.
At that time, Shenzhen was still a dirt-cheap team.
Dai Weijun became one of the few players on the team who got to work with the big name Quintero.
Later, the Shenzhen team helped Dai Weijun complete his identity change and he was selected for the national team.
He played against Japan in the National Football League's Round of 12 and was confident and creative on the field.
Many fans believe that Dai Weijun will unleash more energy as his rapport with his national teammates improves.
Expected to be the centerpiece of the national team.
However, Dai Weijun has recently hit a bottleneck.
He left the Shenzhen team to join Shanghai Shenhua due to salary arrears.
However, his performance at Shenhua has not been ideal, starting only six of 17 games and contributing one assist.
A lot of times, he came out near the end of the second half.
That makes him a time-consuming player.
As for the reason why Dai Weijun couldn't find a place at Shenhua, apart from the same issues as the national team
There is another key factor.
That is, the other players are better.
This player is 24-year-old Xu Haoyang, known as "little Qi Hong".
Xu Haoyang, also from Genbao base, was a leading player in the 99-00 ladder team.
Prior to that, he had been prevented from working out by other teams.
In the 2022 season, he played for Chinese Super League champions Wuhan Sanzhen.
The team's big-time midfielder, Stancho, has publicly praised him.
He was recalled by Shenhua for the 2023 season, and has been impressive earlier this season.
He is very agile in front of goal, always making the killer pass and inserting shots.
This season, he appeared in 30 games for Shenhua, making 22 starts, scoring one goal and dishing out four assists.
Had he not been playing for his country during the Asian Games, his numbers might have been even more impressive.
Although Xu Haoyang is not as talented as Dai Weijun, he plays a more concise game.
This style seems to suit Shenhua better.
Therefore, he is not as fancy as Dai Weijun.
So, can Xu Haoyang take his place in the national team in the future?
