Harold Preciado chose to join Chinese second division team Shenzhen FC of the China League One over other interested teams like Nantes and Malaga. (Photo : Getty Images Sport)
Deportivo Cali striker Harold Preciado opted to join Chinese second division team Shenzhen FC of the China League One for 7 million euros instead of the French team Nantes.
On a deal with Deportivo Cali until Dec. 2018, Preciado has also been targeted by Turkish professional football club Galatasaray, Italian team Pescara and Malaga of Spain's La Liga.
Preciado traveled to China for the medical examination and to sign the contract, which was sealed on Sunday before Alberto Sinisterra, manager of the Vallecaucano-based team, and officials of the Shenzen Football Club.
The website of Deportivo Cali described the transfer as "historic" for Colombian football when 100 percent.
The move comes just two days prior to the beginning of the 2017 Categoría Primera A season and just over a month before the start of the 2017 Chinese Super League.
The 22-year-old striker played for Colombia in the 2016 Rio Olympics and is managed by Sven-Göran Eriksson of Sweden.
He was part of the team that won the National Tournament U19 and professionally debuted in 2013. He played for Jaguares de Córdoba in 2014 where he was the scorer.
A center-forward equally capable of playing on the left-wing, Preciado has an impressive 28 goals in 45 goals for Cali, with 15 goals in 23 Primera A matches.
In total, Preciado has scored 39 goals in 89 games, including in the friendlies, league Eagle, the Eagle Cup and the Copa Libertadores--altogether adding up to 62 goals as a professional.
Shenzhen won the Chinese Super League title over a decade ago and is the first team to win all three tiers of China's football pyramid. It currently plays in China's second tier.
In July 2016, the team hired Dutch football legend Clarence Seedorf as manager, but sacked him in December after the club finished the season in ninth place.
