Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane on Saturday revealed the player who kept Njabulo Blom out of the team against AmaZulu.
Chiefs welcomed Usuthu to FNB Stadium for their sixth DStv Premiership encounter, and Blom was nowhere to be seen.
The utility player did not even make the bench, and Zwane has revealed the player keeping him out.
Of course, the Chiefs academy graduate’s season is seemingly at a halt due to contract renewal negotiations.
The 22-year-old player’s agent, Rob Moore, has publicly suggested Amakhosi are out to short-change his client.
However, Zwane said his absence from the team on Saturday was due to competition in the squad.
“It’s competition. We know Njabulo [Blom] is a good player. We know he’s going to come back. Give him time. He’s a hard worker by nature.
“It’s a case of Solly [Dillan Solomons] doing very well and also giving other players who are doing well a chance,” Zwane told the media.
He believes the move will cultivate competition within the club.
According to Transfermarkt.co.za, the Bafana Bafana defender is worth R10 million in the international market.
His agent has argued that offering him a salary 50% less than some players whose output is way below his client’s is unreasonable.
Meanwhile, Zwane has opted to remain mum on the contract deadlock, insisting that management will deal with the issue.
Blom has not played for Amakhosi in their last three matches in all competitions. He also didn’t start against Stellenbosch FC and Cape Town City. Against Richards Bay FC, he came off the bench in the match before that.
“The issue of Njabulo Blom, management will deal with it,” he said last week.
“I treat all my boys with special care; we have come a long way, I love all of them, and I want the best for them. I think it was one of those things where sometimes in football things go your way and sometimes they don’t.”
