Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi says his team is still crying out for a left-back despite signing two in the off-season transfer window.
Chiefs signed youngster Bradley Cross from Golden Arrows as well as Bongani Sam from Orlando Pirates but of the two, only the former has been used, with the latter yet to play a competitive game since his arrival.
It is not known why coach Nabi has not trusted Sam with a place in the team despite his recovery from an injury sustained in pre-season and has been playing Botswana captain Thatayaone Ditlhokwe in that position instead whenever Cross is unavailable.
Chiefs’ left-back options have thinned
Ditlhokwe has since ditched Chiefs for Libyan club Al-Ittihad, further reducing Nabi’s options, but the tactician says he still needed a left-back even without the transfer as he feels what he has does not suit the way he wants to play.
“We need to build a tactical culture in the team, and every time there’s an opportunity in the transfer window to strengthen the team, we use it,” Nabi said as per FARPost.
“So, we feel that we are in the right way even if we are not consistent; for example, we also feel that we should have had a left-back that is a specialist in its position.
Why doesn’t Nabi trust Bradley Cross?
“The one that plays there [Bradley Cross], although he plays amazingly well, he is someone who was there at first to try him and see how he does, but overall, we believe that going to the end of the season, we are in the right space with the right ingredients to do something good.”
Nabi’s sentiments further raise questions over Chiefs’ transfer dealings as it looks like they signed two players for one position but the coach does not rate both of them.
Edmilson Dove, who has also not played this season, is another left-back option but he does not look like he has a future at Naturena with Stellenbosch’s Fawaaz Basadien and Anderson Cruz of Angolan giants Petro de Luanda having being Chiefs’ main targets at the end of last season.
