Five big arrivals in Chinese football

AFP Sports looks at five top arrivals at the cash-rich Chinese Super League this European summer:

Manuel Pellegrini (Hebei China Fortune)

The former Manchester City boss became the Chinese Super League's latest big-name foreign manager last week after being replaced by Pep Guardiola, despite winning the Premier League in 2014 and guiding City to the Champions League semi-finals last term. His first task, after swapping the rarefied surroundings of City's Eastlands for the Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium in northern China, is to get fifth-placed Hebei into the Chinese Super League's top three and earn AFC Champions League qualification. They are currently five points adrift of third-placed Shanghai Shenhua with seven games left to play.

Graziano Pelle (Shandong Luneng)

The striker was an integral part of Italy's front line at Euro 2016 but may not be for much longer after new Azzurri coach Giampiero Ventura warned that he risked his place by moving to China. Pelle, 31, scored 30 goals in 81 appearances for Southampton before his move to Shandong Luneng for a reported 15 million euros ($17 million). He remains in Ventura's squad for now, and has scored three goals in seven starts for his new club who, according to reports, have made him one of the world's highest paid players with a salary of 300,000 euros a week ($340,000).

Papiss Cisse (Shandong Luneng)

Senegalese international striker Papiss Cisse, 31, also joined Shandong Luneng for an undisclosed fee to form a new-look strike partnership with Pelle after leaving relegated English club Newcastle United. He scored 44 goals in 131 appearances in four-and-a-half years with the Magpies and has two already in six Chinese Super League appearances since his reported 2.5 million pounds transfer (3 million euros, $3.25 million).

Felix Magath (Shandong Luneng)

Not content with signing Pelle and Cisse, Shandong also recruited the no-nonsense German former Fulham and Bayern Munich boss Magath to replace ex-Brazil coach Mano Menezes in June, after a season that has seen Shandong languish in the lower half of the table despite reaching the AFC Champions League quarter-finals. Magath will be looking to revive his fortunes after he led his last club, Fulham, to relegation from the English Premier League in 2014 and was then sacked after losing the first four matches of the next campaign in the second-tier Championship. 
 

Hulk (Shanghai SIPG)

The muscular forward from Brazil made headlines at the beginning of July when Sven-Goran Eriksson's Shanghai SIPG splashed out a reported 55 million euros ($61 million) to bring him from Zenit St. Petersburg. But they have yet to see much return on their investment as, after scoring nine minutes into his debut against Henan Jianye on July 10, he was stretchered off on 21 minutes clutching his knee and hasn't played since. Eriksson said last week that Hulk should be fit for the second leg of SIPG's AFC Champions League quarter-final at Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on September 13.

Source: AFP