Kitchee transfers

With thirteen confirmed player departures this summer, and likely more on the way, the much-needed Kitchee rebuild is underway. Edgar Cardoso's promotion to head coach has been made official, with last season's interim Kim Dong-jin taking on the under 22 managerial role. Cardoso will be assisted by fellow Portugese coach Stefano Sousa and former Kitchee centre back Fernando Recio, recently retired after seeing out his career with Lee Man. Here we look at the six confirmed incomings so far, with the squad flying to Thailand at the weekend for preseason.

Jay Haddow, 20, right back/centre back

The young defender returns after eight years on the books at Blackburn Rovers, playing in their development sides. We interviewed him a couple of months back to discuss his career, check it out here. Primarily a right back, he can fill in across the backline or in defensive midfield. The youngster appeared for Japan U19 in 2022, and could represent Hong Kong in the future by giving up his existing nationalities and obtaining a Hong Kong passport. He brings us much needed youth and versatility to our backline.

Leon Jones, 26, centre back

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The Glasgow-born centre back joins us after an eighteen month spell with our local rivals Eastern, where he won the FA Cup this season. His time at Eastern was partially disrupted by knee and shoulder injuries, but he put in good performances, and we look forward to seeing what he can do for us. Before arriving in Hong Kong, Leon, or 'Lok On' to give him his Chinese name, captained Scotland at youth levels, but is now a Hong Kong international (eligible through his mother), making his debut in June. He came through the Heart of Midlothian academy in Scotland, before moving to Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA, and after graduating he played two games in the Scottish Championship for Dunfermline before moving to Hong Kong.

Jordan Lam, 25, left back/left winger

Hong Kong international Jordan Lam joins Kitchee as his latest stop around the Hong Kong Premier League. Having spent some of his childhood in the United States, he had a couple of trials with English clubs, but faced with work permit issues he returned to Hong Kong. Lam joins us from North District, with Kitchee being his seventh HKPL club. His impressive performances down the left hand side earned him a Hong Kong debut in March away in Uzbekistan. While the left hand side is where he is most comfortable, he has also been used on the right wing and attacking midfield during his career. We anticipate him being predominantly deployed at left back after the departures of Shinichi Chan and Jordon Brown.

Luis Machado, 31, left winger

Portugese winger Luis Machado comes to us after three years in the Polish top flight with Radomiak Radom. Primarily a left winger by trade, the experienced attacker has also played on the right and in attacking midfield, and also filled in further back. His versatility will be important, and with Mingazow and Igor Sartori's contracts set to expire midseason, he gives us another attacking option. He spent a decade in Portugal's top two divisions, before moving to the Indian Super League and then Poland. In his only season in Asia he scored 7 goals in 22 games, so if we can see something similar at Kitchee it would be a successful signing. He takes the number 10 shirt.

Fynn Talley, 21, goalkeeper

The young goalkeeper joins us from Peterborough United of League One in England, where he made nine appearances. He started off at Arsenal, before moving to Brighton in 2017, featuring for their U18 and U23 sides). At Brighton he had in loan spells in lower leagues in England and the Northern Irish Premiership at Cliftonville. Although inexperienced, he has featured in Europa Conference League qualifying for Cliftonville, and impressed in two FA Cup appearances last season, including saving two penalties in a shootout win. Talley also played for England U16 back in 2017.

Diego Bardanca, 31, centre back

The Spanish-born Filipino centre back has had somewhat of a journeyman career. Initially in the youth academy at Deportivo La Coruna, he has bounced around European and Asian leagues for the last decade, and was part of a double winning squad with Buriram United in the 2022/23 Thai league season. He has spent the last season with Persis Solo in the Indonesian Liga 1. Bardanca offers us another centre back option, and his Filipino passport means he counts as an Asian player. He also has three caps for the Philippines, playing in three friendlies in 2022.

On the departures front, the majority of players who left at the end of May are yet to disclose their new clubs. Charlie Scott has just signed for Semen Padang in Indonesian Liga 1. Jakob Jantscher signed for ASK Voitsberg in the Austrian second tier, while Shinichi Chan has yet to make his debut for Shanghai Shenhua.

Chairman Ken Ng revealed that the club still has two more foreign players on the way, reportedly an attacking midfielder and a striker, both from Europe. The pair will fly straight to Thailand to join the squad. There are also links with Hong Kong-based players, both foreigners and local players, which at time of publishing have not come to anything concrete. The squad will stay in Thailand for a couple of weeks, playing three games, and will return to Hong Kong in time for the friendly against Atletico Madrid on August 7th, a game serving as Huang Yang's farewell appearance. Ticket information is here.

Written by Adam O'Domhnaill

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