On the night of April 1, a star-studded soccer feast was staged at the Quzhou Sports Center. Shandong Taishan and Zhejiang, the third and second place finishers of last season's Chinese Super League (CSL), faced off in an exciting match on the green field. Although Taishan lost on penalties, the emergence of new faces certainly added color to the game. Among them, 25-year-old Quzhou native Tong Lei stood out and won the starting position as right back. Although Tong Lei has yet to receive official notification from the club, the German transfer market administrator revealed that he has been transferred to Taishan on a free transfer, officially becoming a member of the team. The December 1997-born player, who stands at 1.74 meters tall, comes from the Zhejiang Greentown Football School and made his debut in the Chinese Super League in 2016 for Zhejiang's first team.
Tong Lei's youth was a regular in national team call-ups. Since he was selected for the U19 national youth team in 2015, he has hardly missed every training list of the 97 age group national team. However, during Tong Lei's critical period of growth, Zhejiang was unfortunately relegated to China's First Division soccer league. In 2020, Tong Lei joined Dalian for a transfer fee of 1.7 million euros, starting his new chapter in the Chinese Super League. In his first two seasons at Dalian, Tong Lei gained valuable experience in the league with a wealth of appearances. He was diligent and hardworking on the field, fast, and strong in assists, and was one of the best performers in his position during the same period. As a result, he was recruited by the national soccer team late in the Top 12 season, and although he has yet to appear in his first international match, he has already proved that he has the strength to become an international player.
However, due to the tight financial chain of the Dalian People's Club, Tong Lei broke out a contract dispute with the club in the middle of last season, and his playing time was sharply reduced, and he even faced retirement. At the beginning of this year, Tong Lei and his teammate Sun Guowen arrived at Taishan in advance of the trial, which is very beneficial to their rapid integration into the new team. In the new season, Taishan team is in the key period of the Super League, Tong Lei is in his prime, is expected to get the head coach Hao Wei's reuse. Looking forward to his excellent performance in the Chinese Super League and AFC Champions League, he will have the opportunity to return to the national soccer team and show his strength again in the future.
