Kaizer Chiefs coaches given Luke Baartman warning – ‘He will fool you because…’

Kaizer Chiefs coaches Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze have been cautioned over new signing Luke Baartman.

Baartman joined Chiefs from Cape Town Spurs in October after a protracted legal battle that went up to the PSL appeals body as his parent club fought against his departure as a free agent alongside teammate Asanele Velebayi.

However, even after the big fight to bring him to Naturena, he is yet to play for Chiefs when Velebayi has already clocked minutes in the legs but a man who knows him well in former Orlando Pirates star Benson Mhlongo is not panicking yet.

Mhlongo has likened Baartman to former Bafana Bafana forward Jabu Pule-Mahlangu but warned Kaze and Ben Youssef to watch out for a certain trait in the 19-year-old that could fool them to think he is not committed to the course.

Mhlongo reveals Baartman’s key strength

“He's a special player; when you talk about Luke Baartman, you're talking about Jabu Pule (Mahlangu), you're talking about (Patrick) ‘Ace' Ntsoelengoe; he's a special player, a very special player,” Mhlongo told Soccer Laduma. 

“He does things you won't believe. The only thing is, he is not an aggressive training player. When you look at him at training, he will fool you because he doesn't go 50/50 (in challenges); he doesn't want to hurt his teammates; he goes easy,” added the former Bucs ace.

“But when it comes to match days, he will show you flames. He needs a coach who would understand him, as at training, he is not aggressive. He just prepares himself,” the former Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates defender further said.

What does the future hold for Chiefs forward?

“But on matchdays, he will win you matches. We had to take him out of the injury for him to help us (at Cape Town Spurs). We had to ask him to sacrifice just for a few games; there are games he won (by himself) for us. That's why they (Chiefs) snatched him because they saw the quality.”

It is still not known when Baartman will make his Chiefs debut but his situation has already generated heat for Kaze following his assertions that the young forward would be sent to the Diski Challenge team to get some minutes.

That sentiment was shot down by Chiefs Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jr who maintained that the player was signed to play for the senior team and that is where he will train and feature.