On January 6th, Beijing time, Shandong media reported that Mustapha Tash, the main central defender of Shandong Taishan B team, is on trial with Shaanxi United, a newly-promoted team to the Chinese League One. Shaanxi United, which has just been confirmed by the Football Association to be promoted to the League One, has set its sights on strengthening its defense with the 21-year-old towering central defender Mustapha, who shone in the China League Two last season. As a favorite player of Han Peng, the head coach of Shandong Taishan B team, Mustapha became the most trusted defensive pillar for Han Peng after returning from Chongqing Tongliang Long in the Chinese League One during the summer transfer window and joining Shandong Taishan B team to play in the League Two. His contributions were significant in helping the team reach the promotion group. Born in 2003, Mustapha stands at an impressive height of 1.86 meters. He is one of the key central defenders being groomed by Shandong Taishan and, along with Yan Hengyue, is considered a future successor for the team's domestic central defensive line. Having previously played for the first team in the 2001 and 2003 seasons, it is expected that Mustapha will join Shaanxi United on loan if all goes well with his trial. With Mustapha likely heading to the League One, Shandong media suggests that the new season of Shandong Taishan will still rely on veterans Zheng Zhen and Shi Ke to carry the load. Without the competition from young central defender Mustapha, veteran Shi Ke's position in the…

Shandong Taishan has recently managed to resolve the issue with Leonardo, but Shi Ke, who is even more troublesome than Leonardo, is now a burden that the club finds hard to shake off. They are unable to sell him or find a team willing to take him on loan, causing significant headaches for the club. Shi Ke was well-regarded during his time at Hangzhou Greentown's youth training program, where he was considered a promising talent. Later, when he played for Shanghai Port, he performed well and even helped the team win the league championship in 2018. At that time, no one could have predicted his current situation. Hao Wei recognized Shi Ke's abilities and brought him to Shandong Taishan, offering him a substantial contract of 1 plus 4 years. This decision seemed reasonable at the time, considering Shi Ke's strong performance at Shanghai Port. During his first two years at Shandong Taishan, Shi Ke lived up to expectations, starting in almost every match and performing well defensively. Fans had positive opinions about him during this period. However, from last year onwards, Shi Ke's form began to decline, with an increasing number of mistakes. Sometimes, he would make several low-level errors in a single game, causing fans to shake their heads in disbelief. In this year's AFC Champions League match against Yokohama F. Marinos, Shi Ke's performance was shocking. As an experienced player, he made numerous mistakes in just one game. At the beginning of the match, Shi Ke made a catastrophic error by backpassing outside the penalty area to Wang…