The Chinese Super League (CSL) is entering a downturn with the shattered dream of golden dollar soccer and the epidemic. Under the impact of this wave, many Chinese Super League clubs are in financial difficulties, and the performance of the team has also fallen. Guangzhou, the former Chinese Super League (CSL) champions, were relegated to the first division last season, while fellow city rivals Guangzhou City managed to survive relegation but were unable to escape the fate of disbandment.
Former Chinese Super League giants have declined, attracting "big fish" players gathered in the winter transfer market this year. Super League newcomers Wuhan Sanzhen, Beijing Guoan, Shandong Taishan and other veteran powerhouses have snapped up strong reinforcements. Wuhan Sanzhen brought in three former Guangzhou players such as Wei Shihao, Yan Dinghao and Li Yang, while Beijing Guoan signed strong players such as Han Jiaqi, Yang Liyu, Fang Hao and Feng Boxuan. Although Taishan's signing strength is not as strong as Sanzhen and Guoan's, the team has brought in new reinforcements such as Tong Lei, Sun Guowen, Hu Jinghang and Fernando in the winter window, which has greatly improved their strength.
With the addition of new recruits, Guoan and Taishan have had to clear some of their fringe players as the number of first team players has surged. Guoan has announced the departure of six local players, including Yang, Jin Taiyan and Jin Pengxiang, as well as two foreigners, Memisevic and Daburo, before the winter transfer window opened. However, the introduction of the eight new players of Guoan, the first-team players are still seriously over the limit, can only be part of the players on loan to other teams. Former Olympic goalkeeper Guo Quanbo was loaned to Meizhou Hakka, while new stars such as Cao Yongjing and Tian Yuda were loaned to Changchun Yatai.
Similar to Guoan, Taishan's first team is full this season. For this reason, Taishan club has rented 8 young players from Jinan Xingzhou. In terms of foreign aid, Taishan's team is full, and not only are they unable to bring in new players, but they also need to clear out their surplus foreign aid. Brazilian striker Leonardo, who was rented to K-League team Ulsan Hyundai last season, has become the first target of the club to clean up.
Leonardo has reportedly returned to China, but instead of meeting with Taishan, he went to Changchun Yatai for a trial. Unsurprisingly, Leonardo will be wearing the Yatai uniform in this season's Chinese Super League. Although Changchun Yatai is not a traditional Chinese Super League (CSL) team, it has a glorious history, winning the CSL title in 2007 under Gao Hongbo at Beijing Guoan, and after being relegated to the CSL in 2018, returning to the CSL two years later as CSL champions.
In the 2021 season, Changchun Yatai became the biggest dark horse in the Chinese Super League. Under the leadership of Coach Chen Yang, they finished fourth in the league table and successfully promoted to the AFC Champions League. Despite the poor results in the league last season, Yatai did not give up the pursuit of good results. Therefore, they brought in several new players in the winter transfer window to strengthen their lineup. In addition to Cao Yongjing, Tian Yuda, and Leonardo on loan, the Atay club also brought in a number of local players such as Abdu Hemiti, Xu Haoyang, and Liu Yun. The league goal for the new season is no longer relegation, but to hit the top four in the table. Whether the club can achieve this goal depends on whether coach Chen Yang can make full use of these new assistance...
