South African starlet eager to learn from Robin van Persie

A South African teenager Thuto Mojanaga is eager to learn from Dutch legend Robin van Persie after penning his first professional contract with Feyenoord. 

The 15-year-old defensive midfielder signed a deal that keeps him at the club until 2025 on Tuesday at Varkenoord.

Van Persie, who played for English Premiership giants Arsenal and Manchester United at the height of his career, is a youth coach at the club.

“It is very nice that my family could be present at this signing. My brother is a big fan of the club and walks around in his Feyenoord shirt all day. 

“I think I can learn a lot from my trainers Brian Pinas and Robin van Persie this season. It’s great that, with all their experience in professional football, they are my trainers,” the youngster said after signing.

A controlling midfielder

The club’s head of academy, Rini Coolen, described him as “a controlling midfielder with game-defining qualities”.

“He also has great running ability and a lot of duel power. Even though he has only been a player at Feyenoord for a few months, he has already adapted very quickly at the club.

“He is busy all day to get the most out of himself, something we would, of course, like to see at Feyenoord,” Coolen said.

Mojanaga holds both Dutch and South African nationality and is eligible to represent either of the two nations internationally.

He started his football career at the SuperSport United academy. He left the Pretoria side in 2018, switching to the Netherlands at 12.

He has previously featured for PEC Zwolle before joining Feyenoord last summer, where Van Persie is the co-head coach at the club’s Under 16 team. He is a regular in the team.