Beijing set to lose 6 players

With the opening of the S-league transfer window, it is not just Etoile FC who have worries with Beijing Gouan (S) also set to suffer

6 players are set to make premature exits from Beijing Guoan Talent, including club leading scorer Tan Tiancheng.

The striker heads a list of five Beijing players called up by China Under-19 coach Su Maozhen for a training camp in Shandong, in preparation for the AFC Under-19 Championship to be held in October.

Also leaving Singapore on Wednesday are centrebacks Yu Yang and Lei Tenglong, leftback Ma Chongchong and midfielder Zou Yucheng.

In addition, playmarker Zhang Xizhe will not be returning to his squad.

Zhang has been away from the club since the start of April, when he was selected to represent China in a global talent search competition held in Spain that also features 49 other up-and-coming starlets from all across the world.

The winner of the competition will earn the privilege of an attachment with a top Spanish club, identified by Chinese media as Atletico Madrid, throughout the length of the club’s pre-season training for the coming Primera Liga season.

Zhang’s progress in the competition remains unknown, but even if the 19-year-old drops out, he will be heading to Shandong to report to Su as an integral member of China’s Under-19 squad, known to the country as ‘Guoqing’.