It is a measure of how much the Chinese Super League's (CSL) pulling power has exploded over the past year that the summer transfer window - which closed last week - contained a handful of blockbuster deals, but was still considered quieter than expected.

Topping the list was Brazilian international Hulk, whose $60 million transfer from ­Zenit St. Petersburg to Shanghai SIPG broke the Chinese transfer record for the fifth time this year, although the other four times occurred at the start of the year when the current soccer frenzy truly began in earnest.

But if Hulk's move from Russia to China - or from one second-tier league to another - can be dismissed as the whim of a player who is more interested in maximizing his bank account than testing himself against the best in the world, Graziano Pelle's move from Southampton to Shandong Luneng certainly raised some eyebrows. Following two solid seasons at the overachieving English Premier League side, Pelle was one of the stars of an Italian squad that topped its group at Euro 2016, before dispatching reigning champions Spain in the knockout stages.

After scoring goals against both Belgium and Spain, Pelle, who turned 31 last week, could have signed with a top European club. But the riches on offer in China proved too tempting, and Pelle will now reportedly earn about $15 million per year. More significantly, though, he decided to leave behind a league that had also been spurned in January when ­Brazil's Alex Teixeira chose Jiangsu Suning over Liverpool.

Colombian Roger Martinez, Nigerian Anthony Ujah and Senegal's Papiss Cisse - another transplant from England - were other high-profile arrivals in China this summer, but perhaps the most significant incident happened shortly after the transfer window closed.

In a contentious Shanghai derby on Saturday, Shenhua's star striker Demba Ba tumbled to the ground  after a ­seemingly innocuous challenge from crosstown rival Sun Xiang. But as Ba's leg twisted, the impact from Sun broke his leg so badly that his coach fears he might never play again.

Encouragingly for a league that has tended to spit out ­foreign imports as soon as ­another one appears on the ­horizon, Shenhua's treatment of the player has been ­exemplary, with the world's best doctors flown in to treat him and fans holding a nighttime vigil outside the hospital, before rather less tastefully holding a silent protest at Sun's Shanghai restaurant.

One way or another, though, China's top league continues to make global headlines.

The author is a Beijing-based writer. dreyermark@gmail.com