Chipolopolo midfielder Kings Kangwa has spoken out about his time in Serbia after returning to Israel and taking the league by storm.
The 25-year-old left the Serbian giants in July of this year, two years into his four-year contract, which he signed in July 2022 from Russian Premier League club Arsenal Tula, where he appeared 55 times and scored six goals and nine assists.
Since moving to Serbia, he struggled for playing time but managed to score 12 goals and 9 assists in 56 appearances across all competitions, winning the Serbian league and cup twice before being loaned out to Belgian side Kortrijk.
Kangwa signed a four-year contract with Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Beer Sheva FC from Red Star Belgrade for a reported fee of €800,000.
‘I want to win the Championship’- Kangwa
The midfielder returned to Hapoel six years after playing in the club’s youth team during the 2017/2018 season, where he scored nine goals in all competitions, and he has quickly established himself as a valuable member of the squad.
“Lack of game time affected me in Serbia at some point because I did not play much,” he told SportsBoom.com in an interview. “But now I am playing; I am in good shape, and that’s one of the reasons I am having good numbers and a good season so far. Everyone needs game time to perform and to shine.”
Kangwa has directly contributed to 10 goals (5 goals and 5 assists) in his first 15 games with Hapoel, the most of any of his teammates this season.
His target this season is to win the Israeli league with Hapoel, who currently leads the table with 34 points in 15 games.
“So far so good. We are working hard as a team, and personally, it’s been fantastic, so I am just looking forward to finishing strong, keeping enjoying my football here, contributing to the team, and hopefully winning the title at the end of the season.”
After winning the league three years in a row—2015/2016, 2016/2017, and 2017/2018—Hopoel have yet to win it again in the last six seasons and will be hoping to end their drought this season.
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