Recently, Cangzhou Lions core player Školjic parted ways with the club due to salary issues, an incident that once again brought the issue of unpaid wages for Chinese Super League teams to the forefront. Not only that, another foreign aid Lokadia also followed the footsteps of the team, plans to leave the team. International media disclosed that Locadia has started negotiations with a Turkish club and confirmed that he will not renew his contract with Cangzhou Lions, and is expected to bid farewell to China at the end of the year.
Turkish media further reported that Locadia's agent is assisting him to negotiate with new owners and the player himself has expressed his desire to return to Europe. Locadia's contract with the Cangzhou Lions will naturally terminate at the end of this season's Chinese Super League, so the new team will not have to pay a transfer fee. Currently, he is closest to Fenerbahce of the Turkish Super League, who see him as an ideal replacement for Batshuayi.
Lokadia has been an integral part of the Cangzhou Lions' offense this season, contributing seven goals and six assists in 24 games played so far. However, the Cangzhou Lions' financial situation has been poor for the past two years. Earlier this year, the team's unpaid wages led to the departure of core center Jose, and not long before that, Shkolich left for the same reason. Now, the team is facing the departure of Locadia, a surprising decision for the players to seek a new way out after their contracts expired, but it is not known whether other disputes such as salary arrears are involved behind the scenes.
The 29-year-old Locadia is a former member of the Dutch national youth team and has an extensive professional resume. He has twice won the Dutch Eredivisie title with PSV Eindhoven and joined Premier League side Brighton in 2018 for €15 million. Despite his eye-catching performances in the Premier League this season, Locadia's popularity and strength as a foreigner for a mid- to lower-tier team make it difficult for him to gain a long-term foothold in the Premier League.
