Shanghai sets its sights high

BEIJING - Shanghai Shenhua wants a big defender. It's turned to one of the biggest teams in the world in its quest to find one.

The Chinese Super League club is expected to launch negotiations with La Liga giant Barcelona as it looks to shore up its defense in advance of the season, Chinese media reported.

According to Sina.com, Shenhua investor Zhu Jun was scheduled to meet Barcelona president Sandro Rosell on Wednesday. The meeting was on the acquisition of a defender, though the club refused to disclose the player's name.

Shenhua changed its plans after losing to Slovakia first league champion Bratislava 3-0 in a warm-up game on Friday during preseason training in Valencia, Spain.

The club, which signed French coach Jean Tigana and stepped into the international spotlight by signing French striker Nicolas Anelka in December, had originally been looking for attackers.

Shenhua official Ma Yue told Reuters on Tuesday the team was in talks with Stoke City defender Matthew Upson, but declined to give a timeline for negotiations with the 32-year-old centerhalf.

However, Chinese media reported on Wednesday that Shenhua might give up Upson due to his undesirable form.

"In concern of some objective factors, like the surgery Upson had earlier, we had a meeting with our team's senior consultants last night, and we got the feedback that Upson's current condition is not as good as we had expected," a Shenhua source told Sina.com.

"We are learning more about Upson's form and we will probably stop our contact with Upson if his condition can't live up to our requirements. Though we have a lot of work to do and limited time to run the transfer, we will never cut down our standard in choosing a centerback. Our final choice won't disappoint fans of Shanghai."

Shenhua has also been in protracted negotiations with Cote d'lvoire's Didier Drogba, whose contract with Chelsea will expire this summer.

Zhu said on Feb 1 on his weibo account that the talks were deadlocked because the striker's agent asked for too much.

However, French television network Canal + this week said the 33-year-old will join Shenhua this summer. The report said he will receive 400,000 euros ($531,012) a week, meaning his annual salary will reach 20 million euros. He would surpass Samuel Eto'o, Anelka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to become the highest-paid player in the world.

"It's just a beginning to bring in Tigana and Anelka," Zhu told the network in an interview in Spain. "It won't take long for China to become leader of Asia. I believe, within 10 to 20 years, the eastern miracle will take place in Chinese soccer."

China Daily