Chippa United goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has admitted that he would have loved to play for Kaizer Chiefs had Amakhosi pursued a deal for him strongly.
Nwabali was heavily linked with a transfer away from Chippa following his sterling performance for Nigeria as they reached the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with Chiefs and Orlando Pirates among the teams credited with an interest.
However, a deal from the two Soweto giants did not materialise as Chiefs went for Rwandan international Fiacre Ntwari from TS Galaxy instead, while Pirates opted against signing a goalkeeper, and Chippa reacted by handing Nwabali a new contract while making him captain.
Nwabali wishes a deal with Amakhosi had materialised
“To be honest, Kaizer Chiefs is one of the clubs I really want to play for, this is a club I really want to play for in South Africa,” Nwabali told Andile Ncube on MetroFM.
“Kaizer Chiefs is one of the clubs I wanted to play for with all my heart. I won’t say I’ve been supporting them but this is the club I felt like I wanted to play for.
“To be honest, the Rwanda guy [Ntwari] is really doing well with the club, I won’t take that away from him. That’s why I said Kaizer Chiefs was the club amongst all the clubs in South Africa I would like to join.”
Will the Nigerian ever realise his Kaizer Chiefs dream?
Nwabali was seen as the right fit for both Chiefs and Pirates with his reflexes, ability to play out from the back added to his vocal nature some of the qualities he would have brought to the team.
But with no firm interest, Chippa moved with speed to tie him down to a new three-year contract while also making him the club captain.
