Unsurprisingly, the highly anticipated Chinese Super League will kick off in early May. Currently, 17 of the 18 Chinese Super League teams are ready to take on the challenges of the new season. However, Hebei has not yet assembled, and it is understood that their prospects for the new season are worrying. Sources close to the matter said that Hebei is still expected to play in the new Super League season, but the starting lineup will mainly consist of young players.
Originally, the Hebei team planned to start the preparation for the new season on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, but due to a number of reasons, the assembly time has been repeatedly postponed. On the eve of the launch of the second stage of the league last season, the Hebei team also arrived at the last minute to start training in Foshan, Guangzhou, and after just one or two weeks of training, they were directly put into the competition to participate in the second stage of the league. Despite the poor record, the team eventually managed to advance to the title contention group, locking up the relegation spot in advance.
This season, the Hebei team may continue this temporary mode of preparation. Due to the recent epidemic affecting Langfang, Hebei, the entire region is under a state of total area closure, which is not suitable for training. Therefore, the team may enter the region early to find a venue for 1-2 weeks of training after the Super League region and journey are determined, followed by the official opening of the new season.
The good news is that head coach Kim Jong-woo has returned to Guangzhou from South Korea and started to undergo quarantine against epidemics. This is seen as an important signal that the team will continue to play in the Chinese Super League. However, several of Kim's Korean assistants have not been able to return to China for the time being due to various reasons.
News from Hebei indicates that the team will focus on young players in the new season. Most of the highly paid players may not be able to return to the team or choose to terminate their contracts, such as Wang Qiuming who has been training with the Tianjin team, Yin Hongbo and Hu Rentian who will reportedly be transferred to Meizhou and Wuhan teams. In addition, Zhang Chengdong, Renhang and Zhao Yuhao have returned to the team, while Geng Xiaofeng and Feng Gang have become free agents, leaving the team with only a few veterans such as Ding Haifeng and Pan Ximing.
In terms of foreigners, the only one with a contract, Memisevic, has been loaned to Beijing Guoan, who only need to pay Memi's salary and not the loan fee, reflecting Hebei's financial constraints. Unless quality foreign aid can be brought in at a low price before the start of the season, Hebei will likely play the new season with a full Chinese squad.
