Shandong Taishan team is experiencing an unprecedented lineup renewal. If adjusted properly, the team is expected to gradually overcome the aging problem. 2023, Taishan successfully brought in two international players, Sun Guowen and Tong Lei. Sun Guowen has been promoted to international status, while Tong Lei has been frequently featured in Chinese branded tournaments. They were identified as potential investments for Taishan years ago.
Immediately after that, Taishan welcomed the return of naturalized player Delgado from his loan, and he started training with the team to prepare for the upcoming Chinese Super League season. If his performance is recognized by the coach, Delgado is expected to be a starter in the new season instead of another loan. Delgado, 25, is expected to be eligible to represent the national team in 2024, and Taishan will need to reuse him early.
As of the end of March 2023, Taishan's new recruits have been impressive. Sun Guowen's performance in the national team was particularly outstanding. Against New Zealand, Sun came on as a substitute and helped Barton score a crucial goal to avoid a fiasco; in domestic training, Sun scored a solo goal to help the national team beat Shijiazhuang 4-0.
Meanwhile, Taishan's naturalized player Delgado also showed amazing form, breaking the goal repeatedly in the warm-up matches. It is worth mentioning that Taishan has two high-profile naturalized players. In addition to 25-year-old Delgado, a young naturalized player, Fernando, has joined the Taishan team. It is reported that the players have arrived in Jinan and will work side by side with Delgado to prepare for the match. Fernando, as a trial player, also accompanied the team to prepare for the game.
As long as the two can quickly return to their best form in training, Taishan's squad for the new season will be extremely competitive. Media personality Xu Jiang believes that Fernando only needs to regain 70% of his strength to shine on the Chinese side. After all, he is one of the youngest naturalized players at the age of 30. By comparison, Allan and Ekson are both 33 years old, and Luo Guofu is 34. It is crucial for Taishan to make the most of these two popular naturalized players. However, there seems to be signs of foot-dragging on the part of the coaching staff. Hao Wei lacks the courage to hire newcomers, and like many local coaches, he is conservative and lacks trust in new players. The two naturalized players have struggled to maximize their value in his hands.
Beijing time on March 26, from the well-known media "soccer daily" reporter Chen Yong latest report, Taishan team ushered in a new aid - Huang Zhengyu. The reporter revealed that Huang Zhengyu has arrived at the Taishan team and will start training. However, his situation is similar to that of Fernando, who needs to win the trust of the coaching staff through his performance, and will only be awarded a contract after evaluation. Given that the player has arrived at the team and his own ability is not at risk, it is likely that they will sign with Taishan after they return to normal.
In this way, Taishan team already has three international players - Huang Zhengyu and Tong Lei, who have also been selected for the national team many times. According to such lineup adjustment, Taishan team will be more competitive in the new season, but the road to the championship is still full of challenges. On the one hand, the team has many problems and loose management; on the other hand, the coaching staff is too conservative and lack of pre-season preparation.
