Ex-Kaizer Chiefs star plays down Orlando Pirates forward Oswin Appollis signing by Abdeslam Ouaddou - 'He's not that skilful, can't get the first touch right, runs into wrong positions'

Oswin Appollis started life at Orlando Pirates on fire and was named as the Man of the Match in their first competitive match of the season against Polokwane City.

That was followed by some difficult outings, including starting from the bench in the MTN8 semi-final, first leg match against Orlando Pirates.

Former Kaizer Chiefs winger Junior Khanye believes Appolls is struggling to impose himself at the Soweto giants.

"Appollis' first game, he did well, but now he's too direct, too predictable. He's not that skilful, I hear you that he must play on the left wing but there's players for certain teams. On the left side, Appollis, I'm not too sure for Pirates, I'm not convinced," Khanye said as per Soccer Laduma.

"Can he master a passing game? Can he come inside and share the ball when keeping possession? I have a problem. At Pirates, it's important before they sign a player whether he would fit into their system.

"We're not talking about one game and it's done, we're talking about consistency," added the former South Africa Under-20 international. 

"I saw a lot of things, when you can't trap, he's an international player, at Pirates sometimes he can't get the first touch right, he runs into wrong positions, he always shoots, he has to prove himself at Pirates." 

There were high expectations that Appollis would be an apt replacement for Mohau Nkota, who left for Saudi Arabia.

But the former Polokwane City star has struggled to form an anticipated attacking combination with Relebohile Mofokeng.

However, with the season still in its early stages, there is still hope that the Appollis-Mofokeng partnership will take off to devastating effects. 

Despite being inconsistent this season, Appollis has remained in the plans of Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos, who included him in his preliminary squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Nigeria.

However, below-par performances could see him lose his national team place and risk not going to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals.