Recently, the new signing center forward Tang Chuang of Shandong Taishan has joined the team for winter training. Many fans in Shandong are puzzled and believe that the team did not need to sign him. This is because Tang Chuang is already 29 years old and has been playing in the China League One in recent years. Shandong fans think it would be better to focus on the young talent Lu Yongtao from their youth training system, especially since the tall striker Liu Guobo, who was signed from Beijing Guoan, has yet to make his debut. Liu Guobo was a key player cultivated by Guoan, and he was originally thought to be as capable as Zhang Yuning.
Liu Guobo's talent when he first started out was indeed remarkable, not inferior to Zhang Yuning at the same time. However, due to his thin physique, he struggled to establish himself in the Chinese Super League. Guoan gave Liu Guobo many opportunities to prove himself, but his highlights were few. In the 2022 season, he came off the bench in a CSL match for Guoan and performed a feat of dribbling past two defenders.
Afterwards, Liu Guobo passed the ball to Zhang Yuning, who scored directly. Throughout his tenure with Guoan, this was one of his better performances, and as a forward, he only managed to score one goal for the team. With such underwhelming performances, Liu Guobo was naturally not offered a renewal by Guoan. Surprisingly, after his contract with Guoan expired, he secured a big contract with Shandong Taishan.
Shandong Taishan signed Liu Guobo until 2026, but when he will make his debut for the first team remains uncertain. Over the past two seasons, Taishan loaned Liu Guobo to Tai'an, a team in the China League Two, hoping he would excel there. However, Liu Guobo's performance in the lower league was mediocre, lacking any dominant displays. As a result, many fans of Luneng feel that the team should not have given Liu Guobo such a lucrative contract.
Currently, Taishan is in Shanghai for winter training, but Liu Guobo has not appeared. From this perspective, it seems unlikely that Luneng will keep Liu Guobo for the new season, and they will probably loan him out again. We hope that Liu Guobo can break out in the new season, realize his dream of returning to the Luneng first team soon, and become the main striker for the team.