However, there has been a couple of important signings, too, with Thailand national team midfielder Weerathep Pomphan joining from Muangthong United after starring at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ and former national team forward Adisak Kraisorn acquired from Terengganu FC.

There has been wholesale changes at Jeonbuk after an underwhelming 2023 season, as they finished in fourth place in the league and lost the Korean FA Cup final which meant it was the club’s first trophyless season since 2013. Paik Seung-ho and Gustavo have both departed but Dan Petrescu’s side has acted swiftly to bring in replacements.

 

Last season’s K League 1 joint top-scorer Tiago Orobo has been signed from Daejeon Hana Citizen with fellow Brazilian Hernandes Rodrigues, who has already scored four goals in the AFC Champions League this season for Incheon United, another big-name attacking reinforcement.

 

Other notable transfers include Korean national team right-back Kim Tae-hwan from Ulsan Hyundai while Kwon Chang-hoon arrives following Suwon Samsung Bluewings’ relegation.

Kawasaki Frontale have also rung in several changes with star forward Leandro Damiao, Joao Schmidt, Miki Yamane and Kyohei Noborizato all departing, and after a disappointing domestic season they have brought in a number of new signings to bolster the squad.

 

Brazilian trio Erison, Ze Ricardo and Patrick Verhon headline the arrivals with right-back Sai van Wermeskerken brought in from Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen.

 

Notable domestic transfers include Sota Miura from Ventforet Kofu, Yuichi Maruyama from Nagoya Grampus and Yuki Yamamoto from Gamba Osaka in a bid to not only reassert their dominance in Japan but also prolong their continental journey.

Perhaps none of the eight East teams have experienced so many changes between the group stage and the Round of 16 than Pohang Steelers, with arguably the biggest departure being their long-serving head coach Kim Gi-dong who joined FC Seoul during the close season.

 

Zeca, Alex Grant, Goh Young-jun, Ha Chang-rae and Kim Seung-dae followed their head coach through the exit door. The result is Pohang have had to largely rebuild their squad for the upcoming K League 1 season and the AFC Champions League knockout stages under the guidance of new head coach Park Tae-ha, who scored for the Steelers in their victorious Asian Club Championship final in 1997.

 

Defensive midfielder Oberdan’s loan move has been made permanent, with Jo Seong-jun and Jorge Teixeira also arriving to shore up the squad, while Australian defender Jonathan Aspropotamitis’ signing from Macarthur FC is a big boost with the centre-back having previous AFC Champions League experience with Western Sydney Wanderers and Perth Glory. 

Shandong Taishan have reached the Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League for the first time since 2019, although one of their superstars from years gone by Marouane Fellaini has now retired while key forward Moises returned to his native Brazil in the close season.

 

However, Shandong moved quickly to replace them having secured the blockbuster double signing of Zeca from Pohang Steelers and Valeri Qazaishvili from Ulsan Hyundai to provide further firepower to their frontline.

 

Centre-back Gao Zhunyi arrives from Wuhan Three Towns after featuring for them in the group stage, with Peng Xinli from Shanghai Shenhua and Bi Jinhao from Changchun Yatai being their other key domestic transfers.

Just like their Korean compatriots, the reigning K League 1 champions have also been busy during the off season with the aforementioned Kim Tae-hwan and Valeri Qazaishvili leaving the club, but Ulsan have also got in new recruits to plug the gaps.

 

Kelvin and Matheus Sales have arrived from Brazilian shores but Hong Myung-bo’s side have largely kept the winning formula in place with other key foreign players all retained.

 

Among Korean players, former national team midfielder Kim Min-woo returns home after two seasons in China PR while left-back Sim Sang-min has been snapped up from Pohang and another midfielder, Ko Seung-beom, arrives from Suwon Samsung Bluewings to provide squad depth.

J2 League side Ventforet Kofu’s qualification to the Round of 16 has continued one of the most remarkable stories in Asian football of recent times. However, since the group stage many of their key players, among them Motoki Hasegawa and Sota Miura, have secured transfers to top-flight teams.

 

But the club’s recent success, coupled with the lure of playing in the coveted continental competition, has enabled them to make some key signings, too. And a number of them have dropped down from the J1 League, including Brazilian forward Adailton from FC Tokyo plus Naoto Misawa and Takahiro Iida from Kyoto Sanga.

 

More South American flavour in the squad will be provided by Colombian Fabian Gonzalez from Jubilo Iwata and Brazilian midfielder Renato Augusto from Shimizu S-Pulse.

Four-time Asian champions Al Hilal cemented their ranks with the addition of left-back Renan Lodi from French side Olympique Marseille during the January transfer window. The Brazilian defender, capped 19 times for his country, previously represented the likes of Atletico Madrid and Nottingham Forest.

 

Lodi signed a three-year deal with the Saudi club, joining his compatriots Neymar, Michael and Malcom. He brings along a wealth of experience with over 120 appearances across three of the top five European leagues; England, Spain and France.

 

The 25-year-old was part of the Brazil side that reached the Copa America 2021 final, losing to Argentina. He did, however, win a continental title at club level, when he helped his childhood club Atletico Paranaense lift the 2018 CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana, South America’s equivalent of the AFC Cup.

Fresh off playing for the Socceroos in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, veteran left-back Aziz Behich completed a loan move to Al Nassr, becoming the fourth Australian to represent the club after Jonathan McKain, Jack Duncan and Brad Jones.

 

Behich had returned to Asian football in August 2023, joining the A-League side after a European career that saw him play in Turkey, the Netherlands and Scotland. The 33-year-old defender is the most experienced outfield player of the Socceroos AFC Asian Cup squad, with 68 caps to his name.

 

The Melbourne-born defender had already made six appearances in the AFC Champions League 2023/24 group stage with his hometown club, scoring in the 2-1 away victory against Zhejiang FC on Matchday Two.

 
Photo: Yokohama F. Marinos