Royal AM's Letsoalo a worthwhile gamble for Kaizer Chiefs

Kaizer Chiefs may need to break the bank if they are to sign Victor Letsoalo from Royal AM, the kind of player who could change their fortunes.

It emerged earlier this week that Royal AM are indeed prepared to sell their prized asset to Amakhosi, that's according to the club's CEO Sinky Mnisi.

It seems it's just a question of whether Amakhosi are willing to meet the asking price.

"We told them [Chiefs] that we are very open to sell the player but they must give us an offer that we will never reject," Mnisi told an iDiski Times journalist on Zibonele FM.

“I think that’s when I said to Kaizer Chiefs ‘you want to drive a Mercedes Benz but you want to pay a price of Mazda 323’.

“If Kaizer Chiefs want Victor Letsoalo, who is the top striker in South Africa other than Peter Shalulile, they must pay the money that he is worth, because he’s scoring goals."

Chiefs are not known for spending big in the market. But Mnisi makes a good point in comparing Letsoalo with Shalulile, because the pair are indeed two of the few regular goal poachers in the PSL.

It's been far too long since the Glamour Boys have had a striker capable of scoring 15 to 20 goals in a season, and it's also been far too long since they won any trophies.

Somehow, Chiefs need to keep Sundowns in sight, and if they don't start making some serious investments in their squad, the gap between themselves and the Brazilians will increase.

The Soweto giants may end up having to pay in the region of R20 million for someone like Letsoalo, but in the bigger scheme of things, it might not be such a major outlay for South Africa’s biggest club.

It's also possible that Chiefs could sell a few players to recoup some of the funds, because they have a bunch of players who are decent enough, but not taking the club to the next level.

But what they should not do is try and offer Royal AM some kind of player exchange deal, because it's likely the Durban club will walk away from such an offer.

While a big investment is always risky and somewhat of a gamble, Letsoalo is as close to a safe bet as one can get.

At 28, he's mature and right in his prime, yet should still have four or five good seasons left in him.

He's shown that he can step up and play at a higher level after doing well for Bafana Bafana, and at club level, he's been consistent for a number of seasons now in finding the net, first with Bloemfontein Celtic and now with Royal AM.

If Chiefs are serious about changing their fortunes, they should be willing to pay the price.