With the arrival of 2025, many clubs have already begun preparations for the new season. Beijing Guoan, a veteran powerhouse in the Chinese Super League (CSL), recently traveled to Haikou to start their first winter training session of the new year.
Several new faces have joined the team during this training camp, including newly signed foreign player Serginho and a young domestic player, Wu Shaocong, a national team central defender.
The 24-year-old Wu Shaocong comes from the Beijing Baxy youth training system. He can play as a central defender and full-back on the field. After leaving Beijing, he went to Japan to develop and played for the U19 youth team of J-League club Shimizu Pulse. Upon returning to China, Wu Shaocong joined Guangzhou Evergrande. During his time at Evergrande, Wu Shaocong was selected for the national team multiple times and is considered a very promising young player.
After leaving Evergrande, Wu Shaocong went abroad to play in the Turkish Super League but did not find much success. In this situation, Wu Shaocong decided to return to the CSL and join Beijing Guoan. Originally scheduled to report to the national team on January 9th for a ten-day short-term training camp, he arrived early in Haikou and joined the Guoan team for a day of training.
New Guoan coach Quique Setien and his coaching staff are very impressed with Wu Shaocong's abilities. His physical condition, technical skills, and tactical understanding all meet Setien's requirements, making him a potential starting player for Guoan's defense in the new season.
Wu Shaocong's addition will further enhance Guoan's overall strength. As a young national team central defender, he can not only improve the team's defensive capabilities but also contribute to enriching Guoan's tactical approach. Additionally, Wu Shaocong's performance at Guoan will directly affect his status within the national team. If he performs well, he has the potential to become a key rotational player for the national team's central defense position.
It is reported that since Wu Shaocong is still a player of the Turkish Super League club Istanbul Basaksehir, Beijing Guoan will need to pay a significant transfer fee to sign the 24-year-old national team central defender. To raise this money, the Guoan club plans to sell or loan several young players to balance the expenses.
Recently, according to a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily, in the new season, Guoan will sell three young players, Ruan Qilong, Ma Yujun, and He Xiaqiang, to the China League One team Chongqing Tongliang Long. However, this transaction includes a buyback clause. If the three players perform well, Guoan can pay a certain amount to buy them back to the club.
In addition, Guoan has sold Liang Shaowen and Yan Yu to Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic. Liang Shaowen, the former captain of Guoan's AFC Champions League team, recently posted an emotional farewell to Beijing fans on social media. Besides these five players, Guoan also plans to loan several other young players to other clubs to recover some funds.
Many fans are reluctant to see players like Ruan Qilong and Liang Shaowen leave, as they are excellent young players cultivated by Guoan's youth academy. However, with as many as eight national team players currently in Guoan's squad and the plan to continue signing new domestic and foreign players in the new season, these young players would struggle to find opportunities within the team. Therefore, choosing to leave and develop in lower-level leagues could be a good choice for them.
Of course, not all of Guoan's young players are being sold by the club. It is reported that the 19-year-old central defender Fan Shuangjie will continue to stay with the first team of Guoan in the new season. This young talent has already been recognized by head coach Quique Setien, and if he performs well in training and impresses the Spanish coach, Fan Shuangjie has the potential to make an appearance in the new season's CSL matches.
Currently, Guoan's recruitment work is still ongoing, and the club plans to sign at least one more central defender, one full-back, and one defensive midfielder. As for which players Guoan will ultimately sign, we'll just have to wait and see...