Only 21 months after being sent on loan to Sham Shui Po, Ngan Cheuk-pan has targeted a place in the Hong Kong team who will take on Manchester United next month.
Ngan has returned to parent team Kitchee this season, and become an international mainstay under Hong Kong head coach Ashley Westwood.
The midfielder’s contract expires this summer and he said he was “open to other options”, but there was no question over the 27-year-old’s plans for May 30, when the city team host the Premier League club at Hong Kong Stadium.
Chief among his goals was to follow in the footsteps of former Kitchee midfielder Lam Ka-wai, who scored for his club side in a 5-2 defeat at the hands of United when the former European champions last visited the city 12 years ago.
Ngan was especially savouring the prospect of a “match-up” with United’s attacking midfielder, Bruno Fernandes, should they both play.
“If I’m playing, we’ll be directly against each other,” Ngan said. “He’s a special player, really exciting and skilful, and he can make passes others can’t. I want to learn from him and, hopefully, bring that into the Asian Cup qualifier [against India on June 10].”
