Manchester City’s Chinese sister club Sichuan Jiuniu sign Hong Kong’s Matt Orr – who also wins player-of-the-year honour
- The striker’s move is confirmed as he prepares to play in Hong Kong’s first appearance in the Asian Cup finals since 1968
- He earns his hoped-for step up to the Chinese Super League as his goalscoring feats in mainland China’s second tier win him 2023’s player-of-the-year award
Hong Kong striker Matt Orr has landed his dream move to the Chinese Super League after the Manchester City-affiliated Sichuan Jiuniu completed his signing.
Orr, whose exploits in the mainland’s second-tier Chinese League One saw him named the division’s player of the year on Thursday, was confirmed as a Sichuan player when the Hong Kong Football Association submitted its squad list for this month’s AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
The 27-year-old drew interest from Sichuan after scoring 15 goals in 26 games for Guangxi Pingguo Haliao last season in League One, from which his new side were promoted as champions.
Sichuan are majority-owned by City Football Group, the Abu Dhabi holding company behind English Premier League champions Manchester City as well as several other clubs including New York City, Mumbai City and Melbourne City.
Orr spent 1½ seasons at Guangxi after leaving Hong Kong’s Kitchee, taking time to adapt in his first campaign before flourishing last year, helping his team to a fourth-place finish.
