Confirmed ins and outs so far and Hong Kong in EAFF action.

Kitchee officially announced their first four signings of the summer at the start of the week, with three joining from Hong Kong clubs and the fourth having spent eighteen months here in recent years. We also saw fourteen players leave the club, a number of which we had previously mentioned here. Here we run down the confirmed ins and outs, as Iñigo Calderón's squad starts to take shape for the 2025/26 season. The club also confirmed another foreign striker and defender will be joining soon, and five under 18s are being promoted to the senior side for preseason, and perhaps moving forward.

We have two representatives in Hong Kong's 26 man squad for the EAFF Championships (Tan Chun-lok and Juninho), along with four of our fourteen departures. Hong Kong's games are on RTHK32, details below. We will be watching the Japan game in Barcode 23 in To Kwa Wan- let us know if you'd like to join us.

Hong Kong's games are as follows 

8th July 6.24pm Japan

11th July 7pm South Korea

15th July 3pm China

Incomings

Beattie (credits Scoop)

Callum Beattie- 23 years old, left back, English. Most recently at HKFC.

The young defender has shown he can do it against the big teams. scoring against Kitchee, Tai Po and Eastern this season. Find his goal against us here. He is tough tackling and has played LWB and LCB at HKFC this year. We expect him to play left back for us next season, and probably start. Prior to this season, he spent three years in the North American college system, having come through the ranks at HKFC. His time spent in Hong Kong as a youth means he is eligible for a Hong Kong passport, which we understand is very close to being finalised, and may well be completed already.

Kendy (credits Joga Bonito)

Kendy- 26 years old, attacking midfielder, Brazilian. Most recently at North District.

The versatile attacker has been the talisman for North District since his 2023 arrival, and now Kitchee fans do not have to fear him, given his tendency to score against us every game. Primarily suited to playing central midfield, or in the number 10 role, he has also been used as a false nine, and could play on the wings. He has thirty four goal involvements (18 goals, 16 assists) in just under sixty games for a constantly struggling North District side.

Bear (credits HKFA)

Pong Cheuk-hei (Bear)- 21 years old, goalkeeper, Hong Kong. Most recently at North District.

The young goalkeeper has spent most of his career with Hong Kong's worst teams (HKU23, RCFC and North District) but has had admirers around the league, and he is on the fringes of the representative team, making the bench for the World Cup qualifiers with Uzbekistan last year. Definitely seen as a long-term prospect in goal, we assume he will start the majority of games, being backed up by veteran Wang Zhenpeng.

Yumemi Kanda- 30 years old, attacking midfielder, Japan. Most recently at Besa Dobri Dol (North 
Macedonia).

Kanda (credits onetwo.hk)

The Japanese attacker returns to Hong Kong having previously spent 18 months at Rangers, where he had 42 goal involvements in 48 games. Predominantly used as a number 10, he has featured on the wings and at centre forward in a career that has seen him play over a hundred games in the Japanese leagues, and most recently he was in North Macedonia, before leaving at the end of June. We hope he can contribute at a level similar to that as his time at Rangers.

Departures

Helio 225 games 8 goals 

A true club legend- his eleven years at the club brought six league titles, five FA cups, four senior shields and a Sapling Cup. Captained the club on over fifty occasions, and a key part of multiple trophy runs, being a bridge between different eras as he won six league titles and thirteen other trophies. Made the HKPL team of the year on three occasions. Heavily rumoured to be joining ambitious newly promoted Eastern District in a player-coach role.

Fernando 212 games 53 goals 

Over two hundred appearances across two spells, and leaves Kitchee near the top of the record goalscorers list. Player of the year in 2017, he made the HKPL team of the year on five occasions, including this season, and won fourteen trophies, including three league titles. He will likely be joining champions Tai Po.

Poon Pui-hin 76 games 12 goals 

Four years at the club, playing across the frontline. Saw his playtime massively reduced in 24/25, but chipped in with goals and assists when he did get on. He was just announced as a Lee Man player.

Ngan Cheuk-pan 68 games 5 goals

Ngan came through the academy and returned to Kitchee fulltime after graduating college. He stepped up into a regular starter with Tan Chun-lok's injury last season, and became a key part of the Hong Kong setup. Seems likely to be joining Fernando at Tai Po.

Sherzod Temirov 52 games 23 goals

Has worked hard in his eighteen months at the club. Is not the big goalscoring number nine Kitchee have needed, but poor recruitment of Kim Shin-wook and Welthon has massively increased his role. Always had time for the fans, but no news of a new club yet.

Aaron Rey 28 games 7 goals

He played almost every game, and over 80% of possible minutes. Contributed offensively and followed Kitchee tradition of accumulating petty yellow cards.He was quite popular with the fanbase, even if he didn't hit the heights expected. No new club yet.

Sohgo Ichikawa 28 games 3 goals

Moving permanently to Southern after two seasons on loan. Played a small role in our treble winning campaign. Recently earned his second Hong Kong cap against Nepal off the back of an impressive season.

Luis Machado 27 games 6 goals

He came in with high expectations, but could not deliver. Needed to show more consistently high performance levels. His fourteen goal contributions was only bettered by Temirov, but that number needed to be closer to twenty to fire Kitchee to glory. No new club yet.

Bae Jae-woo 24 games 1 goal

Dependable and started a lot of games. Needed more to earn a new contract. Always showed energy, even if he didn't always do a full 90. No new club yet.

Fynn Talley 23 games

Recovered from a shaky start to be one of our stand out performers in a disappointing season. Probably can feel harshly treated having kept six clean sheets. No new club yet.

Leon Jones 21 games

The most surprising of the four departures announced at the end of June. A regular for us and Hong Kong at the heart of defence, he has been linked with a move north, although owing to growing up in the UK he would not class as a local player in the same way that many Hong Kong players do. Unsure where he ends up next, he is currently playing in the EAFF Championships without a contract.

Welthon 19 games 9 goals 

Came in with big expectations, but was a disappointment. All of his goals came against bottom four sides and we finished the season trophyless. Hopefully he makes a full recovery from his head injury sustained in February to play somewhere. Left the club at the start of May. No new club yet.

Tom Yeung Cheuk-kwan 11 games 1 goal

Our club's youngest ever goalscorer (back in December 2023), he couldn't push on this year owing to injury, but did make a couple of league appearances. No new club yet.

Diego Bardanca 5 games 0 goals 

Disappointment on the pitch, but a mentor to young players off the pitch. Did not play after December, and seemed to leave the club in March, although this was not confirmed by the club until May. No new club yet.

Continue to stay in touch with us on social media to stay up to date with any Kitchee news. In the coming weeks we'll see a couple of new signings (maybe more), and confirmation of how next season will look- we know Eastern District will be promoted to make it a ten team league again, but whether the triple round robin will continue will be confirmed in due course. 

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Photo credits

HKFA

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Joga Bonito

Onetwo.hk