What are the facts?
Initially, in contradiction to what the insiders are saying, Zwane indicated that all was well. However, he subsequently did not want to be drawn into the player’s con-tractual issues.
On September 1, the coach told the media, “Njabulo is doing very well. Like any other player at training, he is working hard, as you know there is competition for places. Whoever does well gets a starting berth. At the moment, we have a very good relationship with Njabulo. Fortunately, we have been in the game for a very long time, the player belongs to Kaizer Chiefs, he plays for Kaizer Chiefs. We help the player to focus and give his best all the time.”
However, on September 2, he did not want to be drawn into the player’s contractual issues with the club.
“I’d like to focus more on what we’re going to do in the game against AmaZulu. The issue of Njabulo Blom, management will deal with it. From our side, the technical staff, we want to focus more on the weekend. I treat all boys with special care. We’ve come a long way. I love all of them and I want the best for them, including Njabulo, including Mshini (Nkosingiphile Ngcobo). I want the best for them,” Zwane told journalists.
Blom has made 85 appearances in all competitions in the last three seasons, in-cluding five appearances this campaign, and has established himself as a key cog in the Chiefs starting XI in a time where the club are undergoing a rebuilding phase.
To further underline the Soweto-born player’s importance to the Amakhosi cause, he was the most used player for the club last season featuring in 30 of the 32 games the club had played.
There have been four different coaches at the helm since Blom was promoted to the club’s first team three years ago, and he has featured under all of them, but it was under Gavin Hunt’s spell at the Soweto giants where Blom featured most dom-inantly.
The coach spoke highly of the player, revealing that he could go on to forge a ca-reer in Europe owing to his technical ability and athleticism that has set him apart from his peers.