The newest threat to MLS world supremacy?

Gateway away from MLS!

It's clear that the MLS is growing and adding some high-level talent. Albanian star Shkëlzen Gashi has joined Colorado Rapids from FC Basel while Amsterdam native Johan Kappelhof is coming to Chicago to play for the Fire. Gashi is 27 and Kappelhof is 25 so they are in their primes - that will shut up critics who diss the league. 

This transfer period has made clear that there is a new threat to the MLS vision of world dominance and that is China (pictured above). Our friends at the Guardian are reporting that the Chinese league are swooping in for major talent. MLS may have cause for concern.

According to the Guardian, "In terms of attendances, MLS and China are similar but perhaps not for long. The 2016 Super League season, set to kick off in March, is the most eagerly-awaited yet. Last year saw an average attendance of just over 22,000, less than two hundred behind Italy and France.

A high-ranking league official told the Guardian that this season will see the 25,000 barrier broken and predicts that by 2018, the Chinese Super League will be the third most-watched football league in terms of average attendance in the world behind the Bundesliga and the English Premier League."

The rise in the orient has stunned the hipster football fans over at Deadspin, who were amazed that former Porto and Atletico man Jackson Martinez is headed to China. That Martinez is turning aside Champions League glory for China is surprising.  The 29-year-old should be ready for MLS after five or six years of seasoning in China, and by seasoning we mean this.

How will MLS respond to this threat? Do you think Martinez should have chosen MLS? How many packets of the yellow mustard do you put on your Chinese food? Share your comments below!