Wu Lei: Espanyol’s Licence to Print Money

It has been a while since the end of the transfer window and we have had plenty of time to cast our speculative eyes over the new signings adorning teams across the continent.

The sagas of Gonzalo Higuain, Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi; the glorious return of Peter Crouch; biggish-spending Bournemouth. But there is one significant transfer which may well have more impact than others, especially off the field - and it's not one that has earned too many column inches here in the UK.

Espanyol as a club are mostly known for being Barcelona’s minnow city rival - yet the unveiling of their new man has seen their audiences rocket up to almost four times the average viewers the Premier League's ‘Big Six’ can boast.

When Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United play, there are approximately 12 million viewers per ninety minutes... So why did the Spanish side’s 2–2 draw with Villarreal attract more than 40 million pairs of interested eyes?

Wu Lei is the answer, and most of us were entirely oblivious as to who the Chinese forward is.

Beginning his professional career in China as a 14-year old, Wu helped his hometown club Shanghai SIPG gain promotion to the second tier in 2007. Scoring his first goal aged 16 years and 289 days old, he remains the second youngest scorer in league history behind Cao Yunding.

His goal-scoring record became somewhat ridiculous - scoring at least ten goals in every season since 2010 and 20 since 2016. Last season, he won the Chinese Golden Boot and Player of the Year, scoring a somewhat obscene 27 in 29 to help SIPG win their first ever Chinese Super League title. This was after finishing second and third in the previous two seasons.

He finished his Shanghai career as their record appearance-maker (344) and all-time top scorer (169) - nearly scoring a goal every other game for the Red Eagles.

The signing itself cost the Catalans £1.8m but it could end up earning them millions if it raises the profile of the club across China. It was predicted on Espanyol's official website that the unveiling of Lei alone would attract over 350 million viewers. It could prove to be a marketing masterstroke by the higher-ups at the RCDE Stadium.

During his debut, Lei was only on the field for 14 minutes, but in that time Espanyol came from two down to draw level with the Yellow Submarine. Goals from Vicente Iborra and Santi Cazorla were cancelled out by a Daniele Bonera own-goal and a Roberto Rosales strike.

But what does this transfer mean for commercialisation across European football? The viewer numbers being racked up by a smaller club in Espanyol could presumably be replicated - and surely eclipsed - by the continent's 'super clubs'. Imagine Barcelona signing an elite-level player from China, even if they only played ten games a year — their profits would go through the roof. Shirt-sales, TV licensing, merchandise. It's almost a licence to print money.

All this has been done before. Back in the Noughties, Li Tie, Sun Jihai and Dong Fangzhou formed a short-lived Chinese contingent within the Premier League. Off the field, there were plenty of stories of Everton-shirted supporters packing bars in Beijing or United shirts sales flying through the roof.

"For some years the big-money markets across Asia have seemingly been ignored by European scouting networks - for good or ill, Lei may just change that."

On the field, however, fortunes were more mixed. Li started well but faded rapidly and was unable to hold on to a place at Goodison Park. Sun played regularly for Manchester City but his impact was never substantial and he was replaced without much fanfare. Dong barely put boot on grass at Old Trafford. The eventual conclusion from three separate Premier League teams was that mediocrity on the pitch couldn't make up for soaring share prices off it.

But what about Lei? Is his signing solely a result of a hunt for big yuan, or is it the fact that he is a genuinely talented footballer? It can be argued both ways. The striker's numbers are exceptional and stand out even in the age of top-tier players in the Chinese league, but Li and Sun also had good records back in their home country. There remains a clear gap in quality which needs to be bridged.

On the other hand, Lei is not only a headline-maker, but a history-maker. There is every chance that his footballing ability alone could justify his place in La Liga, regardless of any financial concerns.

If the transfer works out well, he could reignite the concept of looking at emerging markets for new talent. For some years the big-money markets across Asia have seemingly been ignored by European scouting networks - for good or ill, Lei may just change that.