Ex-Blackburn Rovers defender ready to help Kitchee return to top of Hong Kong pile
- Jay Haddow ‘excited and optimistic about future’ after uncertain spell with Championship side
Hong Kong-born Jay Haddow is “excited and optimistic about the future” after joining boyhood club Kitchee, following a challenging two years with former club Blackburn Rovers.
Haddow, who has signed a one-year contract, will count as a foreigner, given his dual British and Japanese nationality.
The former Japan under-19 right back is “undecided” about acquiring the Hong Kong passport that would make him eligible for the representative team.
Haddow’s return to the city, eight years after leaving for England, draws a line under a period when his motivation was tested by the “lack of a clear pathway” at Blackburn.
In under-21 football, Haddow has played against prominent figures such as Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United, and Manchester City’s Rico Lewis, but never broke into the senior team.
Kitchee, however, were eager to recruit the 20-year-old, after the deposed champions committed to embarking on a new era, founded on young talent.