The midfielder talks about his transfer to the Youth Army after just one season with their Chinese Super League rivals
Ghana international Mubarak Wakaso has revealed the bankruptcy of his former club Jiangsu Suning forced him to move to Shenzhen FC.
On Monday, the latter club announced their acquisition of the midfielder, together with compatriot Frank Acheampong, ahead of the start of the 2021 Chinese Super League in the coming weekend.
The move comes two months after Jiangsu folded after being declared bankrupt and consequently disqualified from the league.
“It is true I am in China at the moment. My former club went bankrupt, so I became a free player. I was talking to other clubs and currently, I have found a new club," Wakaso has said on his new move, as reported by Pathofex.
“I have joined the new team with Frank Acheampong who has played here in China for a while. I have signed a four-year contract with the team. I don’t know about the contract details of Frank Acheampong.
“When I came here I realised the league is very competitive, looking at the top players from Europe to have joined the league."
Interestingly, Wakaso and Jiangsu won the Chinese Super League in November, only two months before their predicament.
The 30-year-old joined his former club in January last year, leaving La Liga side Deportivo Alaves.
Last season, he made 18 league appearances for the side, starting in all but two of the matches.
He will hope to make more appearances for new club Shenzhen in the coming season, playing alongside Acheampong.
“Yes, I think when they [Chinese clubs] sign you, they will sign you [as] a professional player so they have to feel your impact - be like a role model to the Chinese players," Acheampong told Untold Stories TV.
"They want to lift the local players on how they play and by [that], they have to learn from the foreigners.
“So whatever you bring on and off the pitch is what they think their local players are learning, so to play in China is not just about the playing but it is like you being an inspiration to their players."
Acheampong joined Shenzhen from Tianjin Teda, where he led the team as captain last season.