As the summer transfer window in the Chinese Super League nears its close, Shandong Taishan FC is experiencing another wave of departures. Goalkeeper Liu Shibo is set to join Qingdao Hailifeng, veteran Bi Jinhao will move to Dalian Yifang, and another seasoned player, Zhang Chi, will lend his support to the struggling former Taishan coach Li Xiaopeng, who now manages a team in a perilous battle for relegation. Additionally, players who have already been loaned out — Peng Xinli, Liu Guobao寻牛堂, Mai Wulang, Abdurosuli, and Lu Yongtao — add up to a total of eight departures this summer. This doesn’t even account for the new foreign recruit, Luis Lopez, who will soon push one more foreign player out.
展开剩余88%These nine players can be categorized into four distinct tiers. The first group consists of the players that Taishan fans were most eager to see leave. This group includes Peng Xinli, Bi Jinhao, and Liu Shibo. Their arrival at Taishan was fraught with controversy from the very beginning. Both Peng and Bi were brought in during the tenure of former head coach Choi Kang-hee, and their recruitment raised a lot of questions. Given their age and deteriorating form, it was difficult to understand why Taishan, a club with a deep bench, needed to bring them in. While Choi Kang-hee once touted Peng Xinli as one of the best midfielders in China, the reality is that Peng has long been on the decline and is barely more than a rotational player. His presence in Taishan’s crowded midfield has certainly stunted the development of younger, more promising players like Ruo Suli. As for Bi Jinhao, his situation was even worse — his time at Taishan was largely spent recuperating from injuries, making him a near non-entity. It can be said that Choi Kang-hee’s departure and the duo’s failure to contribute were major contributing factors to the team's struggles. Liu Shibo, despite being brought in at the insistence of coach Hao Wei, has similarly underperformed. His lackluster performance made him a glaring obstacle, especially in light of the rise of player Yu Jinyong. It was almost unanimous among fans that Liu’s departure was long overdue.
Next up is the group of mid-tier players — Liu Guobao, Mai Wulang, Ruo Suli, and Lu Yongtao. These players had been central to Taishan’s developmental focus in recent seasons, forming the core of the team’s younger squad alongside Xie Wen-neng. However, in the end, only Xie has managed to become a mainstay in the first team. Under the interim management of Han Peng, the club’s approach has been one of stability, focusing on maintaining the current lineup rather than embracing a youth-driven revolution. This has left these four players with limited opportunities. Their loan moves are an indication that, despite being key players in the development pipeline, they have yet to make their mark. For these players, the remaining half of the season will be crucial. They must prove themselves worthy of contributing to the next phase of the team’s rebuilding process. Fans, however, have been puzzled by the decision to loan out these promising players when they would have offered more value than the aging veterans still on the roster. The team’s reluctance to fully embrace the youth movement shows a disconnect between fan expectations and the club’s long-term vision, which will likely be shaped by the next head coach.
The third group, which is a bit more ambiguous, concerns the new foreign recruits and the impact they will have on the current foreign players. Luis Lopez, the first Spanish foreigner to join Taishan, is a center-back, and it’s highly likely that he will replace Kazar as the mainstay in defense. Kazar, after all, is only a loaned player, which makes his position more precarious. There are also rumors circulating that, due to the defensive issues plaguing the team, Taishan may opt for a three-center-back system with two foreign players and a young local defender — a tactic that was employed in their last away match against Dalian. If this happens, it would be a logical choice given the current defensive weaknesses. However, such a shift would also require moving one of the foreign attackers, putting Vako’s future at risk. As a top-paid player in the league寻牛堂, it’s questionable whether Taishan has the resources to terminate his contract. Given the financial situation, it’s more likely that Lopez will replace Kazar.
The final group, which is a more emotionally charged issue, is represented by the veteran Zhang Chi. As the oldest player in the squad at 38, Zhang has already surpassed even his peer Deng Zhuoxiang in terms of age and role in the team. For many, it seemed inevitable that Zhang would eventually step aside to make way for younger players, especially considering the calls for his departure. Yet, despite two career-threatening injuries, Zhang has earned the club’s respect and continues to play at a decent level. His professionalism has kept him in the team up until now, but with the wave of change sweeping through the squad, Zhang now faces a difficult decision. If he wishes to continue his career, a loan move might be his only option. His departure would symbolize the passing of an era, with older players making room for the next generation. Han Peng’s decision to let his long-time teammates go, although painful, would at least bring some closure to the fans.
For Taishan’s supporters, the departure of Zhang Chi is a bittersweet moment. Fans are expected to wish him well, acknowledging the end of an era in the team’s history.
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