The Most Successful Signings of the Season for Shanghai's Two Clubs and Beijing Guoan: Haigang Have Yang Xi, Shenhua Have Laton, and Guoan Have Ramos

With four matches remaining in the Chinese Super League season, the most successful signings made by each team are becoming clearer. In the author's personal view, Shanghai Port's best signing is Yang Xi, Shanghai Shenhua's is Laton, and Beijing Guoan's is Ramos.

This season, Shanghai Port brought in Yang Xi, Zhang Yuan, Yue Xin, and An Yongjia, while their foreign signings included Anphem and Jean Claude. Among these new arrivals, Yang Xi is widely regarded as the most successful. His tackle and interception statistics are the best on the team. He can chase, withstand physical battles, and engage in close marking, while maintaining a high success rate in key moments. His individual defensive ability is his biggest strength. Having developed under the European football system, he impressed with Qingdao West Coast last year and was then signed by Shanghai Port for a significant fee this season. In terms of developing young players over the past two seasons, Shanghai Port has already achieved success with Wu Mi and Yang Xi.

Shanghai Shenhua's signings this year include foreign players Guy and Laton, as well as domestic players Li Songyi, Yang Shuai, and several young players. Although Laton was the record signing, the author believes the investment has been worthwhile. From a long-term perspective, this year is about adapting to the pace of the Chinese Super League, and next year could be Shenhua's best opportunity to challenge for the title. If Guy returns next year and Laton and Asue maintain their current form, Shenhua's attacking ability can also make up for defensive shortcomings. Laton has scored 16 league goals. With Shenhua unable to win the league title and already safe from relegation, whether they can advance from the group stage of the AFC Champions League Two has become the biggest focus for fans.

Beijing Guoan made many signings this year. Their foreign players include Nkoulou, Ramos, and Kongte, along with two foreign players registered for AFC competitions. On the domestic side, they added Ru Zinan and several newcomers. Based on performances through the 26th round, Ramos has been very solid defensively. His strengths include positioning inside and applying pressure, while his height also helps solve the team's previous issues with aerial defense. The author believes Ramos' peak performance as a center-back came in the 26th round, when Shanghai Port attacked with five foreign players against Beijing Guoan, who had only one foreign player available. Ramos was that lone foreign player, and he not only blocked Leonardo's shot but also disrupted other attacking routes. His defensive ability remains very strong. This season, he has made 26 appearances for Beijing Guoan in all competitions and scored three goals. As a relatively low-cost foreign signing, Beijing Guoan have found a player with strong value for money. Most importantly, he has good injury resistance and does not get injured easily.