A fan of both basketball and football, Cheng applied to join the Kitchee academy at age 9 but was turned down.

He later became part of the first class of players to graduate from the Kitchee academy and into the first team when he signed a professional contract in 2015.

[3] In June 2016, Cheng tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a HKFA Youth Cup match and was sidelined for nine months following surgery and rehabilitation.

In July 2017, new Dreams FC manager Leung Chi Wing persuaded Cheng to join his club on loan.

[6] On 14 March 2018, Cheng scored a stunning left-footed curler at the edge of the penalty box in the 92nd minute to give Kitchee a historic 1–0 win in the 2018 AFC Champions League Group stage match over Japanese side Kashiwa Reysol, making him the first ever Hong Kong-born player to receive Man of the Match and Kitchee the first ever team from Hong Kong to win a game in the Champions League.