Kaizer Chiefs legend Brian Baloyi has questioned the calibre of forwards at the club, saying that they need to bring in a quality striker if they want to challenge for trophies.
Baloyi stated that Chiefs require great introspection and need to work on their recruitment strategy.
He strongly believes the Soweto giants’ recent foreign imports lacked the quality to wear the famous black and gold jersey of Amakhosi.
The Soweto giants have two foreign forwards on their books; Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana from Burundi and Christian Saile Basomboli of Congo.
Chiefs’ two foreign attackers scored a combined 11 goals in 37 games in all competitions in their maiden campaign in SA’s topflight.
Bimenyimana and Saile were expected to add the much-needed firepower up front and assist the likes of Ashley Du Preez and the young Wandile Duba in the PSL last season.
But in not so many words, Baloyi insinuated that the pair is not Kaizer Chiefs material. He insists his former club could do with recruiting a high-calibre centre-forward with a proven track. That’s if Chiefs are serious about their ambitions to rebuild in order to end the long trophy drought, he said.
BALOYI ‘VERY critical of two foreign STRIKERS’ AT CHIEFS
“The problem I saw was the type of players they were signing,” said Brian Baloyi, who formed part of Chiefs for more than a decade in the early 90s and early 2000s.
Baloyi, 49, feels Chiefs’ strikers do not possess the necessary quality to represent a club of such stature.
“The ones coming from outside the country, and within SA, I don’t think those are the right players. I’m very critical of the two strikers, the foreign ones,” he added.
“Chiefs, for many years, during my time, has always been known for bringing some of the best imports into the country, more especially strikers, even locally, Chiefs had the best strikers, the national team used to depend on Chiefs for strikers.
Baloyi played alongside Siyabonga Nomvethe, Pollen Ndlanya and Collins Mbesuma during his time at Amakhosi.
The Glamour Boys recently announced seven new signings, among them Ranga Chivaviro. The striker joined the club from Marumo Gallants on a two-year deal with a one-year option.
Ranga scored 17 goals last season, seven in the CAF Confederation Cup for the relegated Gallants.
It remains to be seen if the Limpopo-born hitman will end Chiefs’ struggles in front of goal in the new DStv Premiership 2023/24 season.
The club is in Nelspruit for a pre-season camp. They will embark on an African tour that will see them play friendly matches in Tanzania and Botswana.
Amakhosi will tackle Young Africans SC in Dar es Salaam at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Saturday, 22 July. A week later, the club will take on Township Rollers at Botswana’s National Stadium in Gaborone.
RELATED STORY: Jose Riveiro: Clubs like Pirates must be in the final every season
