Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler has revealed why his side signed former Leicester City midfielder Khanya Leshabela.
Leshabela completed his free transfer move after spending a few weeks training with
the DStv Premiership side, the Citizens.
Born in Soshanguve, Pretoria, Leshabela decided to return to play in his country of birth, South Africa, after parting ways with Leicester at the end of the 2022/23 season.
The former SA under-23 national team player made his debut for the Foxes’ first team in the 2021/22 season but signed his first professional contract in 2019.
However, due to a lack of game time at the Foxes, as he only featured once, the 24-year-old former Leicester City prodigy had a couple of loan spells in the lower divisions in England.
He played for Shrewsbury Town and Crewe Alexandra in League One and League Two, respectively. For Shrewsbury, the midfielder made at least nine appearances and registered one assist, while in League Two, he featured 13 times for Crewe Alexandra.
Leshabela, who was part of Leicester’s youth categories for years, made his Cape Town City debut in the club’s defeat against SuperSport United in the Nedbank Cup Last 32 encounter.
CT City lost 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate of 120 minutes at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Tuesday evening, where Leshabela missed a penalty after making his cameo appearance.
WHY CAPE TOWN CITY SIGNED KHANYA LESHABELA
Coach Tinkler has now divulged why he pushed for City to acquire the midfielder’s signature.
“We lost Brice Ambina through injury, Thato Mokeke, a long-term injury, and he left, so we lost two key midfielders,” said Tinkler in Pretoria.
“We had Khanya training with us for assessment, and because of the situation that has occurred, we ended up signing Khanya rapidly, to put it like that.
“Losing Ambina and Mokeke is a significant loss for us; we had to bring Khanya. But we don’t think
Khanya is ready because he’s been out; I think the last time he kicked the ball was in October.
“So, we are looking to get him fit, to get him ready. But he has done well today. I don’t think if he had started the game, he would have lasted for 60 minutes. “He was called at the very last minute, basically yesterday, because he was not really in our plans [for the match].
“But he was someone whom we identified as one who could come in and add value, especially after losing Mokeke, as the situation has gotten worse with losing Ambina.”
Leshabela and the Citizens will have to swiftly shift their focus to the league as they face Matsatsantsa on Wednesday, 28 February 2024, at Cape Town Stadium.
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Story by Clifton Mabasa
