Hong Kong club Eastern stage coup to re-sign star from mainland China
Jesse Yu Joy-yin returning to district club after a year with China League One club Shijiazhuang Gongfu, North District add two more players
The Hong Kong midfielder Jesse Yu Joy-yin has completed a deadline day transfer back to Eastern from China League One club Shijiazhuang Gongfu.
Yu moved in the opposite direction just 12 months ago, but he has returned from the mainland after making 17 appearances during a largely frustrating stay.
Eastern were yet to confirm the capture of Yu on Monday night, but sources have told the Post a deal has been agreed and confirmation is imminent.
The 24-year-old playmaker has 19 Hong Kong caps. He featured in this month’s two-leg Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup, which interim city head coach Roberto Losada’s team lost on penalties.
The signing of Yu represents a huge coup for Eastern and a shot in the arm for their patient supporters, amid a desperate campaign for the district club.
Losada recently quit Eastern for the Hong Kong post following 4½ years as boss, after a chastening AFC Champions League Two campaign that featured a succession of heavy defeats, concluding with a 9-0 loss against Nam Dinh in Vietnam last month.