It isn’t too often that British managers pitch up in the Chinese Super League but that is exactly what former Wales boss Chris Coleman has done by accepting the job at Hebei China Fortune.
Ex-Sunderland coach Coleman replaced Manuel Pellegrini after the Chilean manager — once of Manchester City, of course — quit to take up the hotseat at West Ham United.
And there was no lack of raised eyebrows when the Chinese Super League side offered Coleman, aged 48, the role and continued brows raised when he accepted.
Coleman, who has previously bossed Premier League outfit Fulham and Spanish side Real Sociedad, was the Wales head coach for five years and enjoyed some relative success when he took the nation to the last four at Euro 2016.
Now he switches his focus to the Chinese Super League where he finds his new charges sitting in eighth place in the league table. His target will be to improve on their standing and he gets the chance to do exactly that when the action unfolds once more in league football after the FIFA World Cup in Russia concludes.
His key players to help push Hebei China Fortune up the table include former Liverpool ace Javier Mascherano and ex-Arsenal attacker Gervinho, as well as former Argentina star Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Another big name to arrive in China with an eye on continued success is ex-Chelsea and Newcastle goal-getter Demba Ba, who has recently joined Shanghai Shenhua for what will be a second spell for him at the club.
Senegalese forward Ba enjoyed a stint at the outfit three years ago before upping sticks to make the move to Turkish side Besiktas on loan and then moving on to Goztepe in the same country.
Ba endured a horrid injury when he was at the Shanghai club the first time around when he broke a leg in 2016. But he overcame what was thought to be a career-threatening blow to return to the game.
Certainly, Shanghai Shenhua will be hoping that he can replicate his form in front of goal when he takes to the pitch once more. He bagged 29 strikes in 37 appearances in two seasons at the club, making him an idol with fans.
Meanwhile, another face familiar to fans of football in England who has returned to the Chinese Super League comes in the shape of former Chelsea player Dan Petrescu. He has accepted another role as coach, this time at Guizhou Hengfeng. He knows all about landing silverware, too. He got his hands on the CFA Cup when he was manager at Jiangsu Sainty.
And another potential arrival in the league is Vincenzo Montella, who is said to have two offers of management roles at Chinese Super League clubs. The former Milan and Fiorentina coach is in the market for a job after being axed by the Rossoneri last year following a poor start to the Serie A campaign.
He was linked with replacing new Italy coach Roberto Mancini at Zenit St Petersburg but Sergei Semak has taken that particular job.