Kings Kangwa did something on a football pitch in Reykjavík on Tuesday night that transfer gossip rarely allows for: he scored a genuinely important goal and looked almost embarrassed about it.
Hapoel Beer Sheva were trailing Víkingur Reykjavík in the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round tie when Kangwa pounced on a loose ball inside the box in the second half and drove it home to make it 1-1, the final score in Iceland. Víkingur had gone ahead through Nikolaj Hansen before the leveler arrived.
It should have been a moment of relief for a Hapoel side chasing a European run. Instead, Greek outlets zeroed in on what Kangwa did next — very little. ERT Sports' headline summed up the mood in Athens succinctly: Kangwa scored, but Hapoel Beer Sheva 'didn't smile.' He was substituted after 71 minutes.
The subdued reaction is being read across Greece as one more data point in a transfer saga that has gripped AEK Athens for weeks. The Super League champions have been negotiating to sign the 27-year-old Zambian, and according to Greek reporting the two clubs are close: AEK have offered in the region of €3.5 million to Hapoel Beer Sheva, with personal terms on a three-year contract worth roughly €750,000 a season plus bonuses already agreed with the player.
That deal appeared to hit a snag when Hapoel opted to field Kangwa in Tuesday's qualifier rather than hold him back. Greek reports said AEK had briefly stepped back from the move once it became clear he would play — featuring in Champions League qualifying now would restrict his European eligibility for AEK this season, since he would only be registrable for the Greek club from the league phase onward, missing any playoff round.
But Athens outlets were careful not to call the move dead. Sportal.gr reported that the Kangwa case 'is not entirely off the table,' citing both head coach Marko Nikolić's regard for the player and Kangwa's own stated wish to complete the switch.
Nikolić's opinion carries weight inside the AEK dressing room right now. The Serbian led the club to the Greek Super League title in his first season in charge, was named the division's Coach of the Season for 2025/26, and signed a contract extension through 2029 last month.
For Hapoel Beer Sheva, Kangwa has been close to indispensable since rejoining the club in the summer of 2024. He was part of the squad that won the Israeli State Cup in 2024/25 and the Israeli Premier League title in 2025/26, a campaign in which the club credited him as its outstanding attacking presence.
None of that resolves the immediate football problem. The tie with Víkingur Reykjavík is level after the first leg, and Hapoel now have to finish the job in the return fixture with a player whose head — by the evidence of Tuesday night's celebration, or lack of one — may already be halfway to Athens.
