Former Ajax Cape Town and SuperSport United striker Darren Smith has revealed details about his brief assessment at Kaizer Chiefs.
In September 2022, after returning from a stint with AS FAR Rabat in Morocco, Smith was invited to train with Amakhosi.
Despite a promising showing, including a friendly match, the assessment didn’t lead to a contract. Smith subsequently returned to Europe and enjoyed a remarkable season with Inter Turku. He scored 19 goals in 38 matches and earned the Veikkausliiga Fan’s Player of the Season award.
In a recent interview with FARPost, the 28-year-old explained what transpired during his brief assessment at Amakhosi.
DARREN SMITH’S ASSESSMENT AT KAIZER CHIEFS
“Yeah, I don’t want to call it a trial, but I guess that’s what people like to call it,” told FARPost. “But basically, I was coming home from Morocco, and I remember I had just arrived. The same day I arrived, I got a message saying, ‘Hey, listen, if you want, Chiefs have invited you to come and train with them’.
“And so I was like, yeah, I don’t have anything now. I can come through and train. If they’re interested, they’ll let us know.”
He stated that he would not have declined the opportunity to be assessed by Chiefs, “one of the biggest clubs in South Africa”.
“I would be stupid not to go and see what can come out of it. So, I decided to go through it. I got there, trained and played one friendly.
“I did what I had to do. The communication was just that it’s a mismatch. They said they already had someone similar, Ashley Du Preez.”
Du Preez had just joined Amakhosi from Stellenbosch FC at the time. Chiefs then signed Burundian forward Caleb Bimenyimana, whom they released after just one season.
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