Nurkovic set to join Royal AM
IN a surprise development, Kaizer Chiefs striker Samir Nurkovic is reportedly on his way to Premiership “wonderkids” Royal AM. The 29-year-old has had a disastrous season with Chiefs and only scored one league goal to date. His exit from Naturena was not unexpected, but it is more the club that he is strongly linked with that has football fans talking.
It appears likely that he will be one of the players who depart Chiefs at the end of the campaign as the club looks to rebuild ahead of next season.
Royal AM have been one of the surprise packages of the season and the Durban-based club have a strong chance of finishing second this term. Should they finish second, they will qualify for next season’s Caf Champions League. A third-place finish will earn them entry to the Confederation Cup.
Should Nurkovic move to Royal AM, he could be a potential replacement for Victor Letsoalo. Bafana Bafana’s Letsoalo has been impressive in the league this season, having scored 14 goals to date and he has been linked with a big-money move to Chiefs at the end of the season.
Royal AM chief executive Sinky Mnisi has previously said that his club will be open to selling Letsoalo if a good offer arrives.
“We told them (Chiefs) that we are very open to selling the player, but they must give us an offer that we will never reject,” said Mnisi.
“If Kaizer Chiefs want Victor Letsoalo, who is the top striker in South Africa other than Peter Shalulile, they must pay the money that he is worth, because he’s scoring goals.”
While Nurkovic has not had the best of seasons, he could potentially do with a fresh start as a means to revive his career. The Serbian has also proven that he is capable of scoring all types of goals and against any team during in time with Chiefs. He was also a feared striker and arguably the most clinical finisher in the Chiefs set-up prior to this season.
At Royal AM, coach John Maduka has proven that he can revive the careers of players as he did with Thabo Matlaba who has been one of club’s best performers this season at the age of 34.
Royal AM have also proven that they are not shy to sign star names as they signed Brazilian international Ricardo Nascimento from Mamelodi Sundowns earlier this year.
Nurkovic is not exactly an old player and still has the attributes to score goals at the highest level in South Africa. Should he move to Royal AM, the challenge that Maduka’s side will face is helping the player to reinvent himself according to his strengths and weaknesses so that he can start scoring again.
Independent Media contacted Mnisi and another source close to the club, who played down the rumours linking Nurkovic to Royal AM as did Chiefs communications manager Vina Maphosa.
“The player is still with Chiefs and it’s not our policy to comment on the details of his future. If there are players leaving the club, we’ll comment at the end of the season,” said Maphosa.