V-League 2025-2026: Many big signings

Never before has the V-League been as exciting as this year, witnessing the massive reinforcement of squads from participating clubs.

Brandon Ly in the Hanoi Police FC jersey - Photo: CAHN FC

Not only are Vietnamese-born stars choosing to return to their homeland to play, but many foreign players with very high transfer values ​​are also flocking to V-League 2025-2026.

The Great Battle of Overseas Vietnamese Stars

Last season's V-League saw the rise of Vietnamese players living abroad, such as goalkeeper Filip Nguyen, defender Cao Pendant Quang Vinh (Hanoi Police), Kevin Pham Ba (Nam Dinh), Adou Minh, midfielder Viktor Le (Hong Linh Ha Tinh ), and goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang (Ho Chi Minh City). This year's league has seen the addition of many more high-quality Vietnamese players living abroad.

Having just been promoted to the V-League, Ninh Binh FC (formerly known as Phu Dong Ninh Binh last season) has attracted considerable attention by bringing in two 20-year-old Vietnamese-born players: central midfielder Tran Thanh Trung (Chung Nguyen Do) and left-back Evan Abran.

Tran Thanh Trung is valued at 400,000 euros (approximately 12.2 billion VND) by the transfer website Transfermarkt. This player, whose parents are both Vietnamese, previously played for the Bulgarian U18 and U21 national teams. Meanwhile, Evan Abran has a French father and a Vietnamese mother and previously played for Lyon's U19 team.

Despite already having three overseas Vietnamese players in their squad after signing center-back Adou Minh, Hanoi Police FC (CAHN) has brought in another high-quality overseas Vietnamese player, Brandon Ly. Born in 2005, this player has a Vietnamese father and an Irish mother. He previously played for Sheffield United's U18 team and Burnley's U21 team (England).

Brandon Ly can play as a defensive midfielder or right-back. He is expected to shine like his other Vietnamese-born teammates at CAHN. "With a foundation from English football, versatility in defense, and a progressive spirit, Brandon Ly promises to be an important piece in the team's future journey," - CAHN Club introduced their new signing.

Another highly anticipated Vietnamese-born player is Vadim Nguyen, who has been signed by SHB Da Nang FC. Vadim Nguyen was born in 2005 and has a Russian mother and a Vietnamese father.

Having been trained in the youth team of FK Rostov, he was once called up by coach Philippe Troussier to prepare for the 2024 AFC U23 Championship. However, due to scheduling conflicts with the FK Rostov U19 team, he was unable to participate.

Many foreign players are worth nearly a million euros.

The 2025 summer transfer window of the V-League is witnessing a real wave of "blockbuster" signings with a series of high-quality foreign players arriving. These new contracts are valued very highly and create a leap forward in both the professional level and the brand image of the league.

In preparation for defending their V-League title and competing in continental competitions, Nam Dinh FC has brought in a number of foreign players. Notable among them are defensive midfielder Njabulo Blom (South Africa), valued at 950,000 euros, and winger Mahmound Eid (Sweden and Palestine), priced at 600,000 euros.

Similarly, CAHN Club also brought in midfielder Stefan Mauk (Australia and Germany), valued at 650,000 euros, to increase the depth of their already star-studded squad in order to compete for success in both domestic and continental competitions.

Stefan Mauk was formerly the captain of Adelaide United, a club that won the A-League and made its mark in the AFC Champions League...

Even Hong Linh Ha Tinh brought in striker Yevgeniy Serdyuk (Ukraine) for a price of up to 800,000 euros - the most expensive in the club's history.

This 1.85m tall player has previously played football in Portugal and Bulgaria. He is expected to lead the team from Hong Mountain to a top 3 finish this season, instead of 5th place like last season. This shows that the V-League 2025-2026 is very exciting to watch.

But the record for the most expensive foreign players in the V-League is unlikely to end there. Because the deadline for finalizing the list of foreign players is still until September 14th, clubs are still in the process of negotiating and announcing new contracts.

Accordingly, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Club (formerly Ho Chi Minh City Club last season) is in negotiations with two highly valued foreign players: center-back Matheus Felipe (Brazil) and midfielder Samuel Bastien (Congo and Belgium).

Matheus Felipe is valued at up to 1 million euros. If negotiations are successful, the 27-year-old will become the most expensive foreign player ever to come to the V-League. Samuel Bastien is valued at 650,000 euros.

Although significantly lower than his €7 million valuation in October 2020 when he joined Standard Liege (Belgium), Samuel Bastien is still among the most expensive foreign players in the V-League 2025-2026. If they acquire these two top-class foreign players, Ho Chi Minh City Police FC will be a very strong team.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/v-league-2025-2026-nhieu-ban-hop-dong-khung-20250808095549437.htm