On the afternoon of April 29, Beijing time, the Shanghai Harbor Team, a powerhouse in the Chinese Super League, officially announced that two active international players, Xu Xin and Zhang Linpeng, had joined. According to the news from the Oriental Sports Daily, Shanghai Harbor did not need to transfer fees to sign 2 internationals. Xu Xin and Shandong Taishan joined in a free body manner after the contract expired; although Zhang Linpeng still had a 1-year contract with guangzhou team, the Guangzhou team had been in arrears for a long time, and the two sides reached an agreement to terminate the contract in advance.
Among them, Zhang Linpeng returned to his old club after a gap of 11 years. In this regard, the harbor official emotionally wrote: Welcome Zhang Linpeng "home", hope that his joining can help the team further strengthen the thickness of the defense, look forward to the 2022 season, we see Zhang Linpeng and the former good brothers reunited on the field, where their dreams began, and then set off,
Born in 1989, Zhang Linpeng plays as a right-back and can also play as a centre-back. Debuting at the Chongming Genbao Football Base, he began playing in the Chinese Second Division and the Chinese First League with Shanghai East Asia Football Club (the predecessor of Shanghai Harbour Football Club) in 2006. In 2011, Zhang Linpeng left Shanghai to join Guangzhou Football Club.
In his 11 seasons with Guangzhou, Zhang Linpeng made 328 appearances in all competitions and scored 18 goals. He helped Guangzhou win two AFC Champions Leagues and eight Chinese Super League titles. In the national team, Zhang Linpeng made 92 appearances for the national football team and scored 5 goals.
Xu Xin, who was born in 1994, played as a back, debuted in the youth training of Atletico Madrid in La Liga, and in December 2015, Xu Xin returned to China to join Guangzhou Football Club, and won the Chinese Super League, FA Cup, Super Cup and other championships with the team. Xu Xin joined Shandong Taishan Football Club last season and won the 2021 Chinese Super League and The Chinese Football Association Cup with the team.
As the best domestic players in the same position, Xu Xin and Zhang Linpeng joined in the current year, which undoubtedly further improved the strength of the harbor midfield. Last season, Harbor was ranked second in the Shandong Taishan team, and they will be the biggest rivals of Shandong Taishan in this season.