Kaizer Chiefs criticized over Khanyisa Mayo's late decision 'they should have signed him two years ago' before he left Cape Town City

Kaizer Chiefs' lengthy pursuit to sign Khanyisa Mayo finally succeeded when the South African star joined them in September 2025.

Mayo, after shining with Cape Town City, joined Belouizdad in August 2024 at a time when he was a subject of intense interest from Chiefs.

The forward only came to Naturena after Algerian League 1 outfit's coach Sead Ramovic felt he was not going to fit into his plans.

Now, former Chiefs forward Junior Khanye has slammed the Glamour Boys for failing to sign the Bafana Bafana international before he left for North Africa.

"I can give him the benefit of the doubt, but I believe they should have signed him before he left [Cape Town City]. He is not a bad player," Khanye told KickOff.

"When I say they should have signed him two years ago, it’s because this boy was scoring. His confidence was high. When I watched him [in North Africa] they were even playing him as a left wingback sometimes.

"That tells you they don’t trust you. Once they change your position, especially moving you from up front to the wings, as a wingback, it means they don’t trust you," he added.

Khanye also blamed Belouizdad for playing Mayo out of position, something he says must have affected the forward's confidence.

"So that can hit your confidence as a footballer. No image in your whole career. You go there; you are used to scoring goals. Now you go there, and they are playing you on the wings or as a number 10 sometimes; it doesn’t make sense," the former Maritzburg United star explained.

"At the end of the day, you are a human being; it’s going to hit your confidence, and we will have expectations.

"So he needs to work on his confidence, but unfortunately Chiefs can’t wait. Supporters want results. It’s an unfortunate situation because I believe the boy is a good player," he concluded. 

Former Chiefs midfielder Thabiso ‘Skapie’ Malatsi assessed the forward and said he is yet to give the Glamour Boys what was expected of him.

"Coming from North Africa, a lot was expected from Mayo, but he has not given us anything. I have not seen anything; he has just become an ordinary player. He does not show that he was playing internationally," Malatsi said.

"For me, he has not done anything; if you check, how many goals does he have since arriving at Chiefs? He arrived at Chiefs and relaxed. He is too relaxed. For me, it was a case of 'I'm Mayo, I'm from North Africa', but for me, he is very flat.  

"When you sign at Chiefs, you must know that you've signed with a big team; you're no longer playing for yourself. One thing that lets Chiefs players down these days is that we were taught from a young age that you have to first think about the supporters," he further stated.