Chippa United captain Justice Chabalala believes that his teammate, Stanley Nwabali, should prioritise a move to Orlando Pirates over Kaizer Chiefs.
Nwabali has attracted attention following his outstanding performances at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024) in Ivory Coast earlier this year, with reports suggesting a potential move to Pirates.
The 27-year-old has, in the past few months, also been linked with Pirates' Soweto rivals Chiefs, English club Queens Park Rangers (QPR), Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, as well as Al Hilal and Al-Ettifaq of Saudi Arabia.
Chabalala endorses Stanley Nwabali for Orlando Pirates
Chabalala, in a recent interview, expressed his support for Nwabali potentially moving to a bigger club.
“We don’t want to lose any players, but for me, if you leave Chippa and you move to Pirates, I say Pirates because I love them, it’s a good thing. It is a good achievement in South Africa if you move to a club like Chiefs as well. The same goes for Sundowns and maybe SuperSport [United],” Chabalala told SABC Sport as per Soccer Laduma.
“I am not saying all the other teams are not good or anything. They are okay. They are very good teams, but when you move from Chippa to Pirates, everyone knows it is a good move.”
Chabalala, who spent six years himsef with Pirates, expressed joy at Nwabali's growth. “I’m happy for him [Nwabali], he’s a good boy. He has achieved what he’s achieved and he deserves to play for a big team, maybe not even in South Africa, but to go outside and make money also.
“But we’ve been talking, ‘How was it there at Pirates? How is Chiefs?’ I said, ‘I don’t know about Chiefs, but when you’re at Pirates, it’s like you are overseas.”
The potential transfer of Stanley Nwabali to Orlando Pirates is set to intensify the already fierce rivalry of the Soweto Derby between Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs
Nwabali had a standout 2023/24 season in the South African Premier Division, keeping 12 clean sheets and conceding 27 goals in 29 matches for the Gqebera-based team while taking his national appearance total to 11. Chippa United have purportedly set a substantial R30 million valuation on the goalkeeper.
