Cape Town City striker on the 'enormous' progress 'special talent' Emile Witbooi has made in PSL promotion push

Dzenan Zajmovic has been left impressed by the technical prowess shown by Emile Witbooi, noting that the teenager possesses fundamental skills that are rare even among established professionals.

Speaking in the latest edition of Soccer Laduma, the Bosnian striker highlighted the youngster's control and composure as his most defining traits.

“He is special, he truly is special. He has something, you see, on his first touch, that he has the first touch that other players don't have,” Zajmovic said.

This technical superiority has allowed Witbooi to navigate the physical demands of senior football despite his tender age and developing frame, making him a focal point in the club's late-season push for promotion.

Zajmovic believes that the key to Witbooi's rise has been the consistent faith shown in him by the coaching staff.

While many academy products struggle to make the transition to the first team, Witbooi has become a regular fixture in the starting XI, a factor that Zajmovic feels has accelerated his growth exponentially.

“But also, you can see, like maybe his physicality [is a disadvantage], but the good thing for him is that he's playing.

"So, this season that he played, at his age, he made so, the steps that he made are enormous,” the striker explained.

By featuring in the majority of matches, the teen has gained experience that few players in his age bracket can match.

The Bosnian marksman also touched upon the difficulties young players face at the country’s biggest clubs, where the pressure for immediate results often limits opportunities for youth.

He suggested that Witbooi's career trajectory is on an upward curve specifically because he is not rotting on a bench or making his first steps into the pro ranks at the top flight level.

“Maybe some of the other guys, his age, or even older than him, maybe they're struggling in the PSL, let's say, like in the bigger teams, they don't get the minutes that he's getting,” Zajmovic noted.

“So, I think like, boys of his age, they may be like staying on the same level, or even going down, but this guy's just going up because he's playing every game, like 70, 80, 90 minutes.”

Finally, Zajmovic credited the club’s leadership for creating an environment where teenagers can flourish.

Under the guidance of Chairman John Comitis, the Citizens have embraced a youth-first policy that was evident in their most recent lineups, where the team relied heavily on players in their late teens and early twenties.

“I think he's blessed to be here in Cape Town City, in my opinion.

"Not only him, but the young players in general, they're really blessed to be here,” he added.

“Also, with the chairman that we have, he really believes in the youth.

"Not only him, we also have a lot of guys, like now when we played the last game, I think like from the first 11, I think like six, seven guys were really young, like 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. So more than half of the team.

"But yeah, he stands out. So hopefully he's gonna have a bright future in front of him.”