Kaizer Chiefs return to Nasreddine Nabi

If Chiefs could turn back time…

Kaizer Chiefs reportedly entertained some tempting offers for a few of their players in the winter but chose to turn them down. Bad move?

Du Preez could have brought huge profits to Kaizer Chiefs

According to Soccer-Laduma, Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes made an offer in the region of €2m (R40 million) for Ashley Du Preez. However, Chiefs couldn’t entertain offers for the former Stellies man before they signed suitable attacking replacements.

“There was a strong desire to see him move to Europe, but the lack of a replacement has complicated matters. An offer of R40 million was reportedly on the table, which could have facilitated the signing of several quality strikers. However, without a guarantee of securing those targets, the move was halted. This has been a significant stumbling block. The interest was genuine, and it’s unfortunate that the deal didn’t materialize for both the club (Chiefs) and Du Preez. Nevertheless, there is still hope for a potential move in January,” said a source.

Kaizer Chiefs

The Naturena Village in all its glory. Image: Ernest Makhaya

Chiefs spent R10 million on Du Preez

Ashley Du Preez is the joint-most expensive signing in Chiefs’ history. The €600k (R11.2 million) is equal to the sum paid for Morgan Gould (inflation-adjusted) back in the 2012-2012 campaign. Can the board justify that outlay, looking at Du Preez’s output in his two-and-a-half years at the club? The club might see now as a decent time to sell the striker, given his market value of €1m. However, they’re unlikely to get anything close to that from any local buyers. There were rumours that foreign buyers were in for the 27-year-old but no offers were accepted. If they don’t get similar offers again, they’ll regret it.

18 goals and seven assists from 68 appearances in a Chiefs jersey is only a slight upgrade on the 13 goals and eight assists he managed in 69 games for Stellenbosch. Given that there are better players creating chances around him, in theory at least, Du Preez hasn’t improved. Not every player can flourish like Rushwin Dortley has.

Kaizer Chiefs Ashley du Preez

Du Preez was in fine form for short spells last term but couldn’t reproduce it for long periods. Image: iDiski Times

Should Chiefs have sold Du Preez when they had the chance?

READ MORE:

Is Kaizer Chiefs boss Nabi out of his depth

Tough questions need to be asked.

Is anyone good enough or big enough for the Kaizer Chiefs job? It seems to be a cursed appointment in the modern era and Nasreddine Nabi is learning all about it.

Nabi started well but the wheels fell off

The signs were good at the start of the campaign, with Chiefs picking up wins over Marumo Gallants and AmaZulu. The warning signs were there, however, with no clean sheets in either of those games. Criticism of Chiefs in the past few seasons has been around their inability to score goals, but clean sheets are important. After eight games of the current Betway Premiership season, the Glamour Boys have ZERO shutouts. That, despite a new-look defence with expensive signings like goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari, and central defenders Rushwin Dortley and Inacio Miguel.

Is there already an over-reliance on Dortley?

22-year-old Rushwin Dortley has been individually superb, becoming an ever-present for Chiefs and fast-tracking his way into the Bafana setup as a regular starter. The former Cape Town Spurs man has settled right into his pressurised surroundings. Calm and cultured on the ball and impressively aggressive in the air, Dortley has what it takes to become one of the best defenders in the country. The problem with their reliance on Dortley is that he’s yet to have a slump in form, and that’s an inevitability for a player of his relative lack of experience. When it happens, who do they turn to? He’s appeared in all eight Betway Prem clashes this term. Should Nabi be managing this situation better? His stubbornness in team selections might have painted him into a corner.

Did Nasreddine Nabi fumble the bag in the June window?

According to Soccer-Laduma, Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes made an offer in the region of €2m (R40 million) for Ashley Du Preez. However, Chiefs couldn’t entertain offers for the former Stellies man before they signed suitable attacking replacements. This looks to be a foolish mistake from the board. Du Preez is the joint-most expensive signing in Chiefs’ history. The €600k (R11.2 million) is equal to the sum paid for Morgan Gould (inflation-adjusted) back in the 2012-2012 campaign. Can the board justify that outlay, looking at Du Preez’s output in his two-and-a-half years at the club? The club might see now as a decent time to sell the striker, given his market value of €1m. However, they’re unlikely to get anything close to that from any local buyers.

Nabi and Kaizer Chiefs hope to turn their fortunes around

Durban is the next home stop for Chiefs after they’ve negotiated an away clash against TS Galaxy.

Nasreddine Nabi will hope that a change of scenery brings about a change of fortunes. His side lost 2-0 to Polokwane last time out, leaving them 10 points adrift of the title pace already after only eight games. They’re only six points ahead of rock-bottom Richards Bay. The Glamour Boys face Chippa United on 29 December, Golden Arrows on 12 January and Sekhukhune on 19 January, all at Moses Mabhida Stadium. Before that, they travel to TS Galaxy on Monday 16 December.