Ntuli deserves to play for Bafana, says his agent

BONGI Ntuli’s agent Mandla Mthembu is still puzzled as to how his player was left out of the Bafana Bafana squad that was due to face Sao Tome and Principle in two Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.

Ntuli has been in a rich vein of form for AmaZulu and has scored 12 goals in 24 league matches to be second behind Orlando Pirates’ Gabadinho Mhango (14) in the Absa Premiership’s Golden Boot race.

“I can talk about something that interests Bongi and what he was working towards. His goal was to earn a Bafana Bafana call-up. Looking at his performances I believe, in my humble opinion, he deserves it,” Mthembu said.

Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki instead preferred to go with Bradley Grobler, Thabiso Kutumela and Lebo Mothiba. Grobler is tied with Ntuli on 12 goals while Kutumela has five goals for Maritzburg United.

It is the inclusion of those other players that has Mthembu puzzled.

“He (Ntuli) is the best performing striker in the country, there’s no two ways about it. He should have been called up. Why that did not happen, I don’t know,” Mthembu explained.

Ntuli has been influential for Usuthu, who would be a sure bet for relegation were it not for his goals.

“How has he handled his disappointment? We can’t tell at the moment because there are no matches. When the league does resume, we’ll have a better idea as to how he handled this disappointment,” Mthembu stated.

Ntuli still has six games to add to his goal tally if the Premier Soccer League does resume.

“The best response for him will be to go and continue to perform the way he has been performing. If possible, he must even do better,” Mthembu explained.

Ntuli has been linked with a move to Orlando Pirates but Mthembu brushed that off.

“You’ll never know about opportunities of football. When they come, they come very fast. If they come, we will have to make a decision at that particular time. For now, he is focused on AmaZulu.

“But all I can talk about at this stage is our plan for this season.

For him, it is to challenge for the top goalscorer award and get into the national team. Anything beyond that, we will sit down and talk with him. We will then review if we achieved our goals or not. For now, it will be premature to predict what will happen at the end of the season,” Mthembu said.