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China’s signings assessed
- Updated: July 26, 2016
As Sky Sports adds the Chinese Super League to its unrivalled live football schedule, we look at the big names soon to be on display.
Chinese football is steadily accumulating a list of household names that already includes Hulk, Jackson Martinez, Alex Teixeira and Ramires.
So, ahead of Chinese Super League action hitting your screens on July 30, we check out how some familiar faces have fared so far…
When Gervinho swapped Rome for Qinhuangdao in January, he left behind one of the world’s cultural capitals for China’s largest coal shipping port.
But the Ivory Coast international has quickly settled in China’s 145th most populous city, its 1,029,670 residents making it roughly comparable to Birmingham in the UK.
“The club has done everything it can to help me integrate and not just from a footballing point of view. I’m enjoying discovering Chinese life – the people have been very welcoming and Qinhuangdao is a very beautiful city,” Gervinho told FIFA’s official website.
The former Arsenal winger has done his bit on the pitch too, scoring three goals and adding five assists in 14 games for Hebei China Fortune FC, who sit fourth in the CSL table.
Hebei were one of the most active clubs in the winter transfer window, adding Ezequiel Lavezzi from Paris Saint-Germain on wages reportedly worth £400,000-a-week. But the Argentine is without a goal in 10 league matches and a broken elbow suffered at Copa America will prevent him from breaking his duck anytime soon.
Another Hebei purchase, Stephane M’Bia, has fared better, and QPR fans may be surprised to learn the former Loftus Road enforcer has four goals to his name at the half-way point of the season.
Chinese clubs have spent more than £250m on players this year alone, and while deals for Gervinho, Lavezzi and M’Bia were significant, they are just the tip of a very expensive iceberg.
Prior to Hulk’s big-money arrival, the most expensive import was former Liverpool and Chelsea transfer target Alex Teixeira, a £38m addition from Shakhtar Donetsk.
His side, Jiangsu Suning, are second in the table and have former Man City striker Jo and Chelsea old boy Ramires on the books, too. In fact, the Brazilian trio have combined for 42 per cent of Jiangsu’s goals this season.
“I’m happy with the partnership between myself, Jo and Teixeira,” Ramires said in June. “It’s getting better with every game and we hope to continue this way.
“I’m having a great …
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