The Kaizer Chiefs board are confident they can land a long-standing striker target in January for a cool R25 million.
Mayele could become a Chiefs player
Amakhosi’s board and management feel they can negotiate Pyramids FC down in their R25 million valuation of star striker Fiston Mayele.
“After the TS Galaxy game, there was the usual post-match meeting and that is when all the parties agreed that they have to go for Mayele again,” an insider told Soccer Laduma regarding Kaizer Chiefs’ transfer plans.
“That’s why management and the board agreed that they would raise the bid for Mayele to R20m and hope Pyramids, who have been looking for between R22m to R25m, will be soft on them this time around.”
Kaizer Chiefs
The Kaizer Chiefs Naturena Village in all its glory. Image: Ernest Makhaya
Soweto Derby is looming
Pirates have held the upper hand in recent meetings between these great Soweto rivals. The Buccaneers have won the last three meetings across all competitions, including each of the last two in the league. That stopped a curious and somewhat surprising run of five consecutive wins for Chiefs in Soweto Derby league clashes with the Sea Robbers. These great rivals meet again on 01 February at 15:30 at Orlando Stadium.
Chiefs need to sharpen up defensively
Much is said about Amakhosi’s inability to finish off the chances they create and that fuels rumours of various strikers seemingly on the brink of joining the club. It’s true, Chiefs’ attack is dismally underperforming. They only scored 25 goals in the entire 2023-2024 campaign. So far this term, there’s been a slight uptick with 14 goals from the opening 10 outings. The biggest issue, however, lies at the back. Chiefs have kept only ONE clean sheet this season in the Betway Premiership. Chiefs remain in the hunt for a striker but they’ve got to tidy things up at the back first.
Fixtures
Nabi’s men rounded out 2024 with a narrow 1-0 win over Chippa courtesy of a strike from Mduduzi Shabalala. That result leaves them seventh on the table at the turn of the year. Next up they’ve got a trip to the Mother City to face Cape Town City, and then a clash with Stellenbosch at their temporary home, Moses Mabhida.
