In the United States, the baseball offseason is referred to as the “hot stove league”, calling to mind the fans in the old days sitting around a stove in the winter talking about all the rumors about where players were going.  With a month to go before the CSL transfer period opens WEF is bringing you all the rumors that are floating around, no matter how crazy they are.  We at WEF have to do it Chinese style, so we’re bringing you the “heated kang league”.

Let’s first start talking about whose got the money.  Obviously the conversation begins with a certain southern side that is the defending champions.  Guangzhou Evergrande’s boss Xu Jiayin has more money than he knows what to do with and is going to spend a lot of it, but other than Park Ji-sung, it’s unlikely they’ll target a big name foreigner.  Their neighbors Fuli, however, are a different story.  Much like with Evergrande, they have loads of money, but looking to steal some thunder from Evergrande, they’re likely to make a splash and buy some top flight foreigners.

So who else is going to be involved in the market?  Beijing Guoan has plenty of money, but they’ve stayed very low key so far, avoiding any major rumors and making it hard to guage their intentions.  At the other end of the spectrum, Shenhua’s taking the exact opposite approach and lots of rumors are flying, but its unlikely those names will actually end up with the club.  Traditional market players Shaanxi and Hangzhou are both beset with problems and are there for unlikely to make any major purchases this year.  Whose left?  Dalian Aerbin went from the Yi League to the CSL in two seasons and has higher asperations, so expect to see them play a role in the transfer market.  Dalian Shide and Jiangsu Sainty both potentially will put a decent amount of money into their sides in the offseason.  Nobody can be sure what’s going to happen in Tianjin or Shenyang at this point, whether they will be buyers or sellers.

The below link is based only on the little information we have from the media and gut feelings. We wouldn’t be surprised if a number of the “Likely” transfers don’t happen and we see a ton of the “Unlikely” ones going through, however these are the names that have been bandied about the most. The two Guangzhou sides and Shanghai have been especially bold in making claims in the media, it will be interesting to see how many of them actually happen. That’s enough talk, we’ll go straight to the names.

Likely Transfers
Zhou Ting (Beijing) to Dalian Aerbin
Dong Xuesheng (Shenzhen) to Dalian Aerbin
Sun Jihai (Shaanxi) to Dalian Shide
Rong Hao (Hangzhou) to Guangzhou Evergrande
Wu Wei’an (Tianjin) to Guangzhou Fuli
Walter Martinez (Beijing) to Qingdao Jonoon

Believable
Yu Dabao (Tianjin) to Beijing Guoan
Mao Jianqing (Shaanxi) to Beijing Guoan
Chen Tao to Dalian Shide
Feng Renliang (Shanghai) to Guangzhou Evergrande
Yu Hanchao (Liaoning) to Guangzhou Evergrande
Wu Xi to Guangzhou Evergrande
Yang Zhi (Beijing) to Guangzhou Fuli
Jon Carew (West Ham) to Guangzhou Fuli
Walter Martinez (Beijing) to Jiangsu Sainty
Cao Yunding (Shanghai) to Jiangsu Sainty
Joel Griffiths (Beijing) to Shanghai Shenhua
Zhao Junzhe (Liaoning) to retire

Unlikely
Zhang Wenzhao (Changchun) to Guangzhou Evergrande
Park Ji-sung (Man U) to Guangzhou Evergrande
Carlton Cole (West Ham) to Guangzhou Fuli
Han Peng (Shandong) to Guangzhou Fuli
Zhao Junzhe (Liaoning) to Qatar
Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea) to Shanghai Shenhua

Seriously?

Yu Dabao (Tianjin) to Dalian Shide
Ronaldinho to Guangzhou Evergrande/Dalian Aerbin
Guti (Real Madrid) to Shanghai Shenhua
Sven-Goren Eriksson to Shandong Luneng

Related posts:

1. Dalian Aerbin and Guangzhou Fuli Promoted to the CSL
2. Only in the CSL: Champions League’s A-Changin’
3. Guangzhou Evergrande FC: Chinese Super League Champions 2011
4. Property Equals Power in Chinese Football
5. CSL By The Numbers: Round 23 Attendance & ACL/Relegation Watch