Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Edmilson Dove has explained why he feels it was the right time for Aden McCarthy to leave Amakhosi for Sabah FC, a club currently fighting to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
The 22-year-old utility defender was signed by the Azerbaijani side in June following his first full season with Amakhosi. It was an impressive 2025/26 term for McCarthy, who made 29 appearances across all competitions for Chiefs, including five in the CAF Confederation Cup, in which he scored one goal.
The departure of Dove for Iraqi champions Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, as well as injuries to Rushwin Dortley, Given Msimango and Zitha Kwinika, made way for McCarthy to turn himself into a Chiefs regular. This was after he featured in just one match the previous season, his debut professional season.
Before moving to Sabah, McCarthy, who is at home as a centre-back or left-back, had undergone an unsuccessful trial stint at Moldovan outfit FC Sheriff Tiraspol. But he got his European breakthrough at Sabah, who are participating in the UEFA Champions League group stage qualifying rounds.
He made his Champions League debut on Tuesday when Sabah beat Welsh side The New Saints FC 2-0 in the first leg of the first qualifying round at their Bank Respublika Arena home. It was, however, a cameo appearance for McCarthy, who came on from the bench late to taste just a minute of action.
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Dove, who recently joined Newroz SC from another Iraqi side, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, feels it was the perfect time for McCarthy to secure a European transfer despite just one full season playing professional football. The former Amakhosi star joins a new wave of South African footballers like Mohau Nkota and Mbekezeli Mbokazi, who moved overseas after just a short period of playing Betway Premiership football.
“First of all, Aden is one of the young players that I have had an opportunity to actually have genuine conversations with. I think he had left Chiefs when we were in pre-season [prior to the start of the 2024/25 season], if I’m not mistaken, but the deal ended up not materialising [at Moldovan outfit FC Sheriff Tiraspol],” Dove told FARPost.
“But that makes you really understand that for every closed door, there is an opportunity. I think Aden leaving Chiefs now comes at the right time because of the experience he gained playing a full season in the first team.
“He is very talented, and for me, as I always told him, this is an opportunity for him to grow as a player. It’s an opportunity for him to grow as a human being, experience a different environment, a different style of football, if I may put it that way.”
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McCarthy already has five Bafana Bafana caps, all of which came during the 2025 COSAFA Cup. But he is yet to break into the first team, whose bar was raised by reaching the FIFA World Cup knockouts for the first time ever at the ongoing 2026 tournament in North America.
“I just want to wish that boy all the very best. I know he is going to succeed. That is for sure. He is going to succeed because he has all the tools to succeed,” Dove went on.
“It’s really pleasing to see his father, Mr Fabian McCarthy, the support that he gives him. I think it is really important for his career and growth to have someone who can give him the ins and outs of a football career.
“Aden is well-guided in that aspect. I want to wish him all the very best because he doesn’t represent only himself and his family, he represents South Africa as well. Hopefully, we will see him in the national team soon because he has all the attributes to be included in that national team environment. It’s just for him to go there and do his thing.”
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