Billion-dollar race on foreign player transfer market of V-League giants

On July 20, Hanoi FC announced that it had successfully recruited central defender Adriel Tadel da Silva. Standing at 1m84 tall, Adriel da Silva can play in many positions in defense. According to the profile, the Brazilian central defender helped Lustenau FC win the Austrian Second Division in the 2021-2022 season and played 1 year in the country's National Championship.

Adriel da Silva is expected to be the final piece to help Mr. Hien's team strengthen the defense alongside veteran players such as Do Duy Manh and Nguyen Thanh Chung. With the Brazilian center-back, Hanoi FC also has enough 4 foreign player slots according to V-League regulations with 3 old players including Hendrio da Silva, Daniel Passira and Luca Bobicanec.

Another V-League giant, The Cong Viettel, previously introduced a new foreign player, striker Lucao from Hai Phong Club. He was also one of the three foreign strikers who scored the most goals last season, with 14 goals for the port city team. This is a necessary addition to The Cong Viettel in the context of the need to increase the strength of the attack after the departure of Nguyen Hoang Duc.

The Cong Viettel strengthens its attack with striker Lucao, one of the top scorers in the V-League last season.

Last season, The Cong Viettel missed the championship target, the result caused coach Nguyen Duc Thang to leave at a crucial moment, paving the way for coach Velizar Popov to take over the head coach position. The failure of last season is expected to force The Cong Viettel to invest more heavily in the championship race in V-League 2025/26.

Phu Dong Ninh Binh Question Mark

The real “shopping king” in V-League in recent seasons is still Nam Dinh Green Steel. After continuously announcing new contracts last season, Nam Dinh continues to make waves in the transfer market this season.

In addition to the domestic squad that is still being strengthened, most recently, Nam Dinh Green Steel has announced 2 new foreign players, Kyle Hudlin, born on June 15, 2000, British nationality and playing in the striker position. He has an outstanding height of 2m1. Before moving to Nam Dinh Green Steel, Kyle Hudlin played for teams in England.

And the second name, Njabulo Blom, was born on December 11, 1999, is a South African national and plays as a midfielder. He is a familiar face in the American Major League Soccer - MLS, having played for St. Louis CITY SC. Njabulo Blom was also called up and played for the South African national team.

Will Phu Dong Ninh Binh become a new player in V-League?

In addition to the above-mentioned giants, the V-League next season is excited with two new names: Phu Dong Ninh Binh. The team from the ancient capital of Hoa Lu once made a big splash by successfully recruiting Vietnam national team midfielder Nguyen Hoang Duc from The Cong Viettel. With a strong squad, Ninh Binh easily demonstrated its superiority in the race for the First Division, thereby winning a promotion ticket.

However, V-League is a different game. Ninh Binh has recently had a series of changes from the coaching staff to the players. The level of "willingness to spend" of this team can make this year's V-League more exciting and full of surprises.