It's raining misfortunes when your roof leaks, and now Shandong Taishan's foreign players are being targeted again.
We haven't even had a chance to strengthen our team with new signings, but it seems like there's trouble brewing at home. From Crespo last time to Zeka today, what's going on?
There were rumors at the end of the season that Japanese teams were inquiring about Crespo, and that Kawasaki Frontale's former coach, Takashi Ono, was interested in bringing the Brazilian to his new club, Kashima Antlers. But then what happened?
No news!
Now it's said that Korean teams have set their sights on Zeka, the center forward who only joined Shandong last year and spent half the year recovering from injuries. The team interested in Zeka this time is Ulsan Hyundai. What's the deal? It seems like Chinese teams are always the ones left holding the bag.
When we bought Zeka, we paid a breach of contract fee of 2 million euros and a salary of 1 million euros, not to mention the medical expenses. Does this mean that after all that Shandong Taishan has invested, Ulsan Hyundai is just waiting to take advantage?
Zeka isn't indispensable; at the very least, the accounts should be settled for 3 million euros. We can be generous and waive the medical fees.
I suspect that it might be Choi Kang-hee's team spreading these rumors through domestic Korean media again. The message seems to be: if you don't want the players I buy, I'll create some public opinion and take away your star striker.
There are always talented people emerging in every generation, so why isn't Choi Kang-hee leaving when everyone else is?
Let's not talk about contracts. Didn't someone say a few days ago that Jeonbuk Hyundai of Korea is considering inviting Choi Kang-hee back? Let's be honest: would Jeonbuk Hyundai be willing to pay the standard of 3 million dollars?
If not 3 million dollars, then 2.5 million dollars would also be acceptable. Goodbye and good riddance!