Sundowns coach on why Chiefs have a gem in Ighodaro

Kaizer Chiefs new striker Etiosa Godspower Ighodaro has been backed to shine at the club after completing his transfer to Naturena this week.

Ighodaro became Chiefs’ eighth signing following his arrival at the club on Tuesday with his transfer having taken longer to finalise following a long-drawn-out negotiation process with Mamelodi Sundowns.

The 24-year-old Nigerian joined Portuguese Flavio Silva and later Luke Baartman as the forwards brought in by Chiefs in this transfer window and he is set to compete for a starting place with the trio as well as Wandile Duba, Ashley Du Preez and Tashreeq Morris.

However, one of his former coaches saw enough to be convinced that he will shine at Chiefs when he finally gets the chance to play.

Coach details how Ighodaro regained his form

🟣⚽️👆✌🏿 @SundownsLadies head coach Godfrey “Godfather” Sapula is one of the coaches who have worked with @KaizerChiefs ‘ newly signed striker Etios Ighodaro 🇳🇬.

🔸 On his spell in the Sundowns development & M-Tigers (ABC)
🔸 What makes him tick as a striker.
🔸Getting the… pic.twitter.com/PH5QVAD3pt
— Velile Mnyandu 🇿🇦 (@Velile_Mnyandu) August 21, 2025

“When he joined the team, he was meant to be with the first team immediately but he started with injuries,” said Sundowns Ladies coach Godfrey “Godfather” Sapula who worked with Ighodaro.

“How he came to M-Tigers is because he was recovering from a long layoff of an injury and we thought let us bring him to M-Tigers for him to get game time, fitness and confidence.

“He came to M-Tigers, what a very strong goal poacher, strong in the air and he is a very top striker. I like him but then we had to loan him to Tuks [University of Pretoria FC] from M-Tigers and then to AmaZulu.”

Sapula then went into details on what makes the Nigerian tick while predicting that he will score double digit goals this season.

What can Chiefs expect from the Nigerian striker?

“He has goals in him but he is also good aerially. He is an interesting player and I don’t think we have seen the best of Godspower, that is how we called him,” he added.

“He is a player that plays around the box, he does not like to run a lot. He likes to be serviced and once he gets the ball in and around that area, he is very strong and can have a quick shot.

“He is always in that area for second balls and if utilised properly, he is a double number striker. More than 10 goals this season.”

Ighodaro seems to have been the striker coach Nasreddine Nabi has been looking for since he joined Chiefs in July 2024 as he was reported to be keen on a centre forward who is lethal in the box.

The striker joined Sundowns in 2021 but never played for them with loan spells at M-Tigers, University of Pretoria, Chippa United, SuperSport United and AmaZulu last season, where he scored six goals in 27 games across all competitions.