The Flow and Surge of Foreign Players in the Post-Golden Era CSL – The Old Buddies of 2026, Truly Awesome!

Journalist Lu Mi reports As the 2026 CSL season nears its midway point, a distinct landscape is increasingly evident: foreign players are no longer transient guests; the return of former players and movement within the league are trends. Silva, moving from Qingdao Hainiu to Chengdu Rongcheng, instantly became an offensive spark; Amadou and N'Gadeu, discarded by Shanghai Shenhua and Beijing Guoan, transformed into defensive pillars for Chongqing Tongliang Long; Achimpon, after transferring to Dalian Yingbo, linked up with Stanciu, displaying fiery form.

These typical players reflect the deep-seated changes in the foreign player recruitment ecosystem of the post-golden era CSL, making "experienced foreign players are more effective" an industry trend.

Silva's 2025 and 2026 seasons serve as a textbook case of a CSL foreign player transitioning from a core player in a weaker team to a key piece for a title-contending team. Last season playing for Qingdao Hainiu, he contributed 11 goals and 2 assists in 29 matches, becoming a crucial figure for the team's survival, dubbed "Qingdao Mbappé" by fans. However, Hainiu's overall strength was limited, tactics leaned towards counter-attacks, Silva often operated solo, endured significant physical duels, and his offensive efficiency was constrained by insufficient teammate support. His personal stats were bright but couldn't fundamentally elevate the team's quality.

After transferring to Chengdu Rongcheng early this year, Silva delivered 5 goals and 2 assists in the first 6 rounds, helping the team achieve 5 wins and 1 draw to lead the standings. Rongcheng also scored 17 goals, ranking first in the CSL. Joining Rongcheng, Silva no longer plays the lone hero role; instead, he forms Rongcheng's frontline combination with Felipe, Wei Shihao, and Romulo. His advantages in right-wing breakthroughs and cutting inside for shots are amplified. Meanwhile, Rongcheng's tactics emphasizing high pressing and interchanges in the channels create numerous one-on-one spaces for Silva. With midfield support, Silva no longer needs excessive retreating, can focus on sprints and finishing, significantly improving his shot accuracy and goal conversion rate. Scoring the decisive penalty against Wuhan Three Towns this round fully displayed his core qualities.

Comparing his performances in two seasons across different teams, first is the qualitative change in tactical suitability. Hainiu focused on defensive counter-attacks, requiring him to balance defense and progression; at Rongcheng, his teammates share ball-holding pressure, allowing him to concentrate on utilizing his speed and finishing strengths, his role is purer, and his impact is more pronounced than previous players in the same position at Chengdu like Palacios and Kalon. Second, is the elevation in teammate quality; Rongcheng's midfield and forward configuration is top-tier, with Wei Shihao's interplays, Felipe's pivot role, and Romulo's distribution dispersing defensive attention, granting Silva more shooting opportunities.

It's worth noting that in the post-golden era, salary cap policies have broken down wage barriers, making it feasible for foreign players like Silva from survival-focused teams to join stronger clubs.

Silva's trajectory proves that quality foreign players don't depreciate due to team strength; his transition from a key player in a survival team to a spark in a title-contending team is both a continuation of personal ability and a microcosm of the rationalization of CSL foreign player mobility. Salary caps make capability the core metric for transfers, allowing capable foreign players from weaker teams an upward path, while stronger teams can reinforce immediate战力 at reasonable costs, achieving win-win outcomes.

One of the surprises for Chongqing Tongliang Long this season is undoubtedly the defensive duo Amadou and N'Gadeu, "discarded" foreign players who have bolstered Tongliang Long's midfield and defensive line. Both were discarded by their original豪门 clubs after suffering severe injuries and declining form, yet they regained vitality at the promoted team, becoming core contributors to the promoted team's six-round unbeaten run conceding only 4 goals.

Amadou's Shenhua career started high but ended low. In the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he was a midfield iron wall, helping the team win the FA Cup and Super Cup; after a severe injury in 2025, his form迟迟 couldn't recover, ultimately leaving. N'Gadeu was an experienced国安 defender, whose form became unstable after injury下半赛季, eventually parting ways with国安 at year-end.

Joining Tongliang Long marked a turning point in their CSL careers. Liu Jianye built a defensive counter-attack system with a five-defender formation featuring dual foreign center-backs, tailoring roles for them. N'Gadeu anchors the central position in the three-center-back setup, averaging 5.83 clearances per game with a 92% pass success rate, maximizing aerial defense and distribution advantages; Amadou plays as a midfield holding midfielder, excelling in defensive coverage and transition, contributing 1 assist and 5 key passes. The defensive central axis formed by the two at Tongliang Long has made this promoted team the CSL side conceding the fewest goals currently.

From豪门弃子 to promoted team core, the key to their rebirth lies in tactical suitability. Traditional豪门 demand more comprehensive capabilities from foreign players; Tongliang Long, as a promoted team, adopts a low stance, primarily立足防守. N'Gadeu focuses on defensive指挥, Amadou on interception protection, their functions相对单一. Simultaneously, Tongliang Long treats them as核心, granting绝对主力 positions, restoring confidence and match rhythm. Secondly, both have served in the CSL for years; their experience and game-reading ability are极其宝贵的财富 for Tongliang Long, where most domestic players lack CSL experience.

Their这段经历 also illustrates that being discarded by豪门 isn't a standard for judging their ability. Current CSL teams no迷信名气; veterans with severe injuries, practical experienced players also have opportunities. Low-cost recruitment, high回报, becomes the optimal solution for中小球队运营.

Another case is CSL veteran Achimpon, a典范 of "professionalism + mobility" balance among CSL foreign players. As one of the longest-serving foreign players in the CSL, Achimpon scored 14 goals for Henan last season, also being the player creating the most penalties. Early this year, due to age issues, he wasn't renewed by Henan and joined Dalian Yingbo as a free agent.结果, signing a short-term contract, he delivered顶级表现, contributing 3 goals and 1 assist in the first 5 rounds, leading the team to defeats of泰山,海港,浙江等强敌, becoming a巨人杀手. This round, Dalian Yingbo主场击败 Henan,豪取四连胜.

Previously, whether at天津泰达,深圳佳兆业, or Henan, Achimpon's定位 was a speedy winger, utilizing absolute speed to become an absolute counter-attack spark. Under such playstyle, he needed大量持球突破 opportunities to find spaces behind opponents,消耗巨大体能. After moving to Dalian, Achimpon延续了反击的特点, also增加了回撤接应和无球跑动的尝试. This year, Stanciu joined Dalian Yingbo, allowing Achimpon to receive very comfortable passes upfront, thus continuously gaining opportunities.

Throughout Achimpon's lengthy CSL career, regardless of which club he served, after adaptation periods, he consistently delivered standout performances. This is密不可分 to his极度敬业的职业态度. No matter the club, he maintained高强度训练, sustaining peak physical condition even past 30. In his first year at Henan, he played with injections强忍脚后跟疼痛, his attitude毋庸置疑. Now with Dalian, although签署的是短期合同, he全力以赴 on the field, repaying trust with performance. In previous interviews, Achimpon多次提到 he熟悉所有中超对手防线特点,因此 his positioning, shooting更具针对性; knowing the ropes makes him比新外援更易把握机会.

Achimpon's经历说明 that CSL old acquaintances are容易被低估的宝藏. They无需适应,态度稳定,战术理解深刻. For clubs,短约签约风险低,回报高. Achimpon一直有买方市场 in the CSL,其中必然关系.

These two years, intra-CSL foreign player mobility明显加强, like Ademi joining深圳新鹏城, Stanciu joining Dalian Yingbo, previously还有阿齐兹,戴维森 joining青岛西海岸, Oscar from dissolved沧州 joining云南玉昆,莱昂纳多辗转多队等等. Their roles within teams还是相对明显.

From the perspective of CSL foreign player salary caps, during the golden era, foreign player salary差距大,强队天价年薪,弱队外援即便实力出众,也很难吸引强队目光,而强队外援更不会选择降薪加盟中小俱乐部. Now foreign player薪资标准统一,席尔瓦这样的保级队优质外援,可凭实力加盟强队,强队也能以可接受的成本引进具备不俗即战力的外援. This also导致了强弱队之间的人员往来也更加频繁.

The advantage of CSL former players lies in无需适应,试错成本极低. Amadou, N'Gadeu, Achimpon均是如此. Compared to overseas new recruits, they更懂中超,稳定性远超名气更大但可能水土不服的外援,即战力成为引援第一指标.当然,这种情况也有例外,比如成都蓉城去年引进的卡隆,受伤之后又因其他问题长时间无法出场,河南队今年引进的前海港前锋古斯塔沃,也因态度问题备受质疑.

In the 2026 CSL season, foreign players like Silva, Amadou, N'Gadeu, Achimpon,他们从保级到争冠,从弃将到核心,从老将到王牌,背后是限薪政策,战术适配,理性引援的共同作用. This also说明 that CSL foreign player recruitment正逐渐告别一次性过客模式,进入流动合理,使用高效的新阶段. For the league, this is良性信号; foreign players are no longer烧钱玩具, but core力量融入体系,助力成长. For clubs, selecting foreign players不必追大牌,找对人,用好人,信熟人更能收获惊喜.