Bafana Bafana hopeful and Southampton product wants to add kasi flava skills to his game  - 'When I look at South African football, I see players standing on the ball! You don’t see this in the English Premier League'

Port Vale midfielder and former Southampton Academy product Ethan Chislett has expressed his desire to don Bafana Bafana's jersey in the future.

The Durban-born star is harbouring a burning desire to play for South Africa and added it would have been a great achievement had that happened when his grandfather was still alive.

His grandfather, Gordon Chislett, died in January this year.

“I’m 26 now. I’m just going to put it simply. I want to play for South Africa. I think the unfortunate passing of my granddad (Gordon Chislett), I’d have liked him to see me represent South Africa, but some things aren’t meant to be," Chislett told FARPost.

"So, I think that’s my burning desire to represent South Africa. And I know you can do that anywhere in the world, but I think the best opportunity would be to play in South Africa and represent South Africa, if that makes sense," he added.

While explaining his style of the game, he pointed out what is the difference between football in South Africa and England.

“I would say I’m creative. I’d also say technical and exciting. I like to excite people. This is another thing I love about South African football. English football is very, I don’t want to use the term robotic, but it’s very… Capped is the right word," he added.

“When I look at South African football, I see players standing on the ball. You don’t see this in the Premier League. I think that’s what I need to unlock within myself, because I’ve got that in me. I love scoring goals. Like, literally love nothing more in the world.

“In England, they like physical players instead of more technically gifted players. It didn’t really suit me. I think my dad recognised that quite early on. He pushed me to go to Spain. So I spent two years in Spain,” Chislett continued.

Chislett moved to England when he was only four years and despite being away for 22 years, he still hopes to play for Mzansi one day.

He was honed at Guildford Saints, Southampton FC, Aldershot Town, and the Metropolitan Police before he moved to Basingstoke Town and Reddish in Spain.

His father played for Manning Rangers in South Africa's top flight, and that means his paternal lineage allows him to play for Mzansi.

It is now upon head coach Hugo Broos to decide whether he will add the midfielder to the Bafana set-up.

With June friendlies, 2026 World Cup qualifiers in September and October, and the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals coming up, there is a possible chance for Chislett to realise his dream.

Chislett was an integral figure for Port Vale's successful season that saw them promoted to League One, the third tier of English football.

Vale were promoted after winning the season's penultimate game against AFC Wimbledon.