Mayuka has lots to prove

THE stars of last year’s Africa Cup of Nations come to South Africa for the 29th edition of the tournament in better form than ever before.

But some, like Emmanuel Mayuka, one of the leading men in Zambia’s triumph in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea a year ago, have a lot more to prove.

Mayuka finished as joint top scorer at the Nations Cup with three goals from six matches and secured a move to English Premier League rookies Southampton six months later from Swiss side Young Boys.

From the Nations Cup final against Ivory Coast until signing a five-year deal with Southampton in August, Mayuka has been living the dream. He was no fringe player at Young Boys and is definitely more than a squad player for Zambia.

However, the English south coast hasn’t been too kind. Mayuka, a player with an eye for goals, having scored 32 times in 55 matches for Young Boys, will get his turn at Southampton, where he has so far made only seven appearances.

But this year’s Nations Cup kicks off just when he is finding his feet.

Herve Renard, the Zambia coach, expressed concerns about the striker’s fitness but quickly added that he would be patient with him.

“Sometimes players arrive having played competitively and in too many games. They arrive tired. But we hope Emmanuel can be fresh and give it his all for Zambia,” the coach said.

There are five more strikers Renard picked along with Mayuka for the Nations Cup and the coach said the Englishforward might have to work harder than before.

“He arrived on Monday and did light training. Let’s give him some time but he has to work hard because he has been missing some competition.”

Five-year deals don’t come lightly in the English Premier League. Southampton know Mayuka’s potential and he might well ignite in South Africa this month.