Kaizer Chiefs have allowed several gifted players to leave their academy for peanuts. Will they ever learn?
Bhengu to cost Kaizer Chiefs up to R10 million
According to SoccerLaduma, Kaizer Chiefs want to bring former player Lungelo Bhengu back to the club. The 24-year-old defender came through the ranks at Naturena but was deemed not good enough and released in 2019 to Maritzburg. Bhengu, a right-back, is seen as an upgrade on current options Reeve Frosler and Dillan Solomons. His arrival would also allow the club to shift Njabulo Blom back into his preferred central midfield role.
Academies are supposed to yield profits, not losses
If Bhengu arrived, it wouldn’t be the first time Chiefs have splurged on players they nurtured in their development structures before allowing them to leave. It’s estimated that Chiefs spent R15 million in collective transfer fees on Mduduzi Mdantsane and Zitha Kwinika. Both came through the club’s development.
Mdantsane has been a disappointment
30-year-old playmaker Mduduzi Mdantsane has left Kaizer Chiefs for Richards Bay on loan for the remainder of the campaign. The former Cape Town City star only managed 16 appearances since arriving at Naturena two years ago. In that time, he got two assists and zero goals.
Kwinika’s wages mean he’s also been a Kaizer Chiefs flop
Rushwin Dortley and Inacio Miguel arrived at the start of the campaign and have become Nasreddine Nabi’s first-choice pairing in the centre of defence. At best, Zitha Kwinika is the fourth or fifth choice in that position. Yes, he’s versatile and can fill in at right-back, but it’s unlikely he’ll play any minutes. Earning a reported R370k a month, that’s an expensive benchwarmer. Reports back in July indicated new boss Nabi wasn’t satisfied with what he saw from the defender in Turkey and those reports have turned out to be true. Kwinika, astonishingly, is the only remaining player in the Chiefs squad who was with the club when they won the league in 2015.
Will Chiefs learn from their mistakes or continue to make them?
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