“I’ve been [in Portugal] for over a year and a half and I feel like I’m already ready to compete for the team. My ultimate objective is to break into the first team, but at the moment I’m not thinking about that – it’s a bit early.”

Leung joins a very exclusive group of Hong Kong footballers plying their trade abroad, let alone the Iberian Peninsula. Only Hong Kong Rangers’ Au Yeung Yiu-chung and Eastern’s Yue Tze-nam have had stints in Portugal. Veteran Au Yeung played for Loures earlier in his career, while Yue was on loan at Cova da Piedade last year.

“Signing a pro contract as a Hong Kong player is a really proud moment. As I try to get better every day here, my long-term goal is to bring something back to Hong Kong football. To show people that those who choose to play abroad can do it with the help of everyone working hard,” Leung said, adding that he needs to adapt to new levels of Portuguese consistency and physicality.

“Yue Tze-nam and I were in the same Eastern team last year – we’re good friends – so sometimes we talk over dinner,” he said. “If there are any issues they’ll always be there to help and guide me as a player and as a person.”

Playing in a nation that has produced legends such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Eusebio and Luis Figo inevitably means an increase in intensity. Leung explains the difference between football in Mong Kok and in the Almada municipality.

“It’s different. In Hong Kong, you would need to train two or three times a week then you can go. But the guys here have adopted professional players’ mentality in training and working out – it’s not as easy to take a break,” said Leung, whose favourite player is Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos.

“The biggest difference is not necessarily height or speed, but their fundamentals and skills. They are just so consistent and there are very few scenarios where they lose the ball – unlike in Hong Kong.

“I have to match them every single session so I can develop as a player and learn to play consistently at a high level.”

Cova da Piedade, who were promoted to the second tier for the first time in their history in 2016, are primarily made up of Portuguese and Brazilian players. When asked whether the nickname “One Boy” translates adequately in Portuguese, Leung shared a funny tale of how it got lost in translation.

“They’ve got a nickname for me here – it’s Hum as in ‘H-U-M’,” he said, adding that he is taking Portuguese language classes. “They had asked me what to call me, so I said ‘One Boy’ which is a translation from my Hong Kong nickname yat zai. That wasn’t sticking so I knew that ‘one’ in Portuguese is um. We tried that but after a whileum turned into ‘Hum’.”

Whatever you want to call him, Leung has created a path rarely seen in Hong Kong football and wants to inspire even more to take the plunge.

“I really hope we can get more young and hungry Hong Kong footballers playing abroad. We must represent and not give up on a road that we are only going further forward in. It would be great to see Hong Kong football succeed.”