CHIEFS FOUR TO TRAIN WITH FULHAM
Overseas visit part of development plan
FOUR Kaizer Chiefs players jetted off to Europe on Monday and will have an opportunity to train at Craven Cottage‚ the home of English side Fulham FC. Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung said the trip was an opportunity of a lifetime for the four players – Lorenzo Gordinho‚ Ryan Moon‚ Siyabonga Ngezana and Emmanuel Letlotlo – and they should make the most of it.
“This is part of the development plan to expose our players in the advanced European setups‚” Motaung said.
“Part of the trip is to explore future possibilities and forge ties with other clubs. It is important for benchmarking and exchange programmes to do so.
“For the youngsters‚ this is a lifetime opportunity to have a look and feel of the European set-up.
“We are confident they will return with a broader view and mindset‚ which will contribute massively in their growth and development path.”
The youngsters will return home next Thursday to rejoin their teammates as they prepare for the resumption of the PSL season next month.
Gordinho‚ a product of Amakhosi’s development structures‚ is a regular in the first team.
Moon and Letlotlo have made cameo appearances in the first team‚ while Ngezana has made the first team’s substitute bench.
Meanwhile, Bloemfontein Celtic are on the verge of signing striker Siphelele Mthembu on shortterm loan from Kaizer Chiefs.
Celtic chief executive Khumbulani Konco said yesterday they were in talks with Chiefs to bring Mthembu to the City of Roses for his second spell at the club since 2010 to boost their misfiring attacking department.
“We are working with Chiefs on a loan deal and hopefully everything will turn out fine for all the parties concerned and the deal concluded sooner rather than later‚” Konco said.
They were determined to move away from their lowly position of 12th on the log at halfway.
It remains to be seen whether Mthembu would prove to be a solution to Celtic’s chronic scoring problems, as he has hardly featured for Amakhosi this season and is a player definitely bereft of match fitness and confidence.
He has failed to fulfil his early promise and remains a frustrated player who has not improved since making his debut for Orlando Pirates in 2008 after the Buccaneers signed him following a tug of war with Chiefs for his signature.
During his largely unsuccessful career‚ he has also played for Golden Arrows and Platinum Stars, where he hardly set the scene alight.
Celtic are the worst-scoring team in the league as their attackers have managed to kiss the back of the net on only eight occasions after 14 matches.
Konco also confirmed that interim coaches Lehlohonolo Seema and John Maduka‚ who replaced Serame Letsoaka in October‚ would continue.