Signings from the last transfer window
Thatayaone Ditlhokwe
It is still early days for the Botswana captain at Chiefs. He arrived on a free transfer and has been a mainstay of the back four under both Ntseki and Johnson (at least up until now). His performances have been very mixed so far. He is clearly a brave, physical defender who protects his box well. However, his ball-playing ability is severely lacking and many teams have targeted this weakness.
VERDICT: JURY STILL OUT, and this could really go either way. He could be a key player for many years to come or he could find himself losing his starting place due to arguably being a poor fit for the style of play.
Pule Mmodi
In terms of profile, the signing of Mmodi made sense. However, Amakhosi arguably needed to sign him 18 months earlier as he is already around the 30-year-old mark. His first few months have seen three goals scored and flashes of his class. Since Johnson took over, he hasn’t been a certain starter and that is quite concerning.
VERDICT: JURY STILL OUT. For most signings made in the last window, it is too early to make a definite judgment.
Tebogo Potsane
In the speedy winger, the club signed someone past the age of 30 and a winger with a very underwhelming goalscoring record. He played a fair bit under Ntseki and was occasionally good and sometimes on the periphery of matches. He has a lot to do in the coming months with Dolly and Saile competing with him for a spot.
VERDICT: JURY STILL OUT. Things don’t look overly promising and it would be a surprise if Potsane turned out to be a successful signing.
Ranga Chivaviro
The burly striker netted 17 goals last season, but that was the first prolific campaign for a top-flight side in his career. He recently turned 31, so there is no time for patience – he was signed to hit the ground running and solve the Glamour Boys’ problems in scoring goals. He has started the last three games and netted against Cape Town Spurs, but he is unlikely to start once Du Preez is fit.
VERDICT: FLOP. Whilst he brings something to the table, Chiefs acquired an older striker who didn’t have a consistent record of scoring goals. This one is more likely to end as a flop than as a success, sadly.
Edson Castillo
Amakhosi’s scouting network found a good one here. Castillo is vastly experienced and has faced Brazil in international matches for Venezuela. For a largely destructive midfielder, he has shown remarkable attacking instincts too with five goals scored up to this point. There is still some debate over his best position, but this is looking like a very shrewd signing and one of the best made in the last decade by the side.
VERDICT: SUCCESS. It’s early days, but this transfer has been a major positive so far.
On paper, this deal saw a TS Galaxy captain with plenty of experience, the perfect age and a good profile for a modern style of play. He began really well and then was suddenly dropped by Ntseki. Johnson has recalled him of late and he should be the first defender on the team sheet right now. VERDICT: JURY STILL OUT.
This transfer should turn out to be a success. Msimango has all the tools to be a top performer for Chiefs in years to come.
Mduduzi Mdantsane
A former Chiefs development player, Mdantsane arrived as Cape Town City’s record scorer. However, his form had been on a downward trajectory for 18 months in the Mother City. He arrived in a squad with at least three other options for the number 10 role already and he is now 10 matches without starting. Amakhosi went and spent a big fee in the region of R3.5 million, but it just didn’t make logical sense.
VERDICT: FLOP. Whilst he could turn things around, this signing had red flags to begin with and it may turn out to be a case of wasted money.
Jasond Gonzalez
The physical forward has not had many minutes yet. Johnson spoke about him beginning to adjust, so we could see more minutes for him over coming months. He is only on loan, so this was something of a low-risk punt. VERDICT: JURY STILL OUT.
We have to see a lot more of the Colombian in the next six months for the club to make a decision on whether to retain his services or not.
Sibongiseni Mthethwa
After just two months at the side, it is too early to decide whether this is a good signing. He plays in an area that needed reinforcing, but does ‘Ox’ suit a possession-heavy style of play? Why did Chiefs wait until nine matches into this season to activate his release clause? It’s been a slow start to life at a big club and there are already a few red flags to keep an eye on.
VERDICT: JURY STILL OUT Luke Fleurs
The young defender was being called up to Bafana squads not long ago. Gavin Hunt clearly didn’t rate Fleurs at SuperSport United and his release allowed Chiefs to pick him up for free. He has been training with the Glamour Boys for a couple of months, but he is yet to make a matchday squad. Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jr. said, “The young man has great technical abilities and I think he will fit really well into how we want to approach the game and the kind of football we would like to play going forward.” On paper, this signing is a no-brainer, but there are so many central defenders to compete with for minutes. A proper pathway needs to be opened up for a player with very high potential.
VERDICT: JURY STILL OUT