Kaizer Chiefs management advised on key signings to strengthen squad as Pule Mmodi is 'not working' and they need to 'break the bank to get Lebohang Maboe a partner'

While Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns have been busy in the transfer market signing players, their rivals Kaizer Chiefs have been quiet.

Amakhosi have brought in midfielder Xhosa Manyana, a player acquired to beef up their DStv Diski Challenge side, according to sporting director Kaizer Motaung.

"In a boost to their defence of the DStv Diski Challenge (DDC) title, Kaizer Chiefs have acquired the services of Xhosa Manyana on loan from Cape Town City," said the Amakhosi statement.

"The 20-year-old midfielder will be part of the Amakhosi youth development academy until June and will add quality and depth to the squad for the remainder of the DDC campaign."

However, former Chiefs winger Junior Khanye has named the players he feels Amakhosi should sign.

“I was looking at Chiefs to sign Puso Dithejane and [Thabo] Moloisane, there were rumours and I was expecting them to sign him and also a proper goalkeeper,” said Khanye on iDiski TV.

“I was also expecting they’d sign someone in the number 10 position. Puso can play as a number 10 as well, he can play left or right wing. I had expectations and I was looking at them strengthening wing-forwards and not rely on the likes of [Pule] Mmodi because it’s not working.  

“Yes the likes of [Glody] Lilepo are good but there is nothing going forward and if they wanted to compete they’d bring in players like Puso and Moloisane.  

“I know Sundowns won’t give them [Siphelele] Mkhulise, who they are not even using, I’m saying break the bank to get [Lebohang] Maboe a partner.”

Amakhosi are third on the Premier Soccer League table and still with a chance to win the title as they have just two points fewer than log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.

That might have given the Amakhosi management comfort that they have enough material to contest for the league crown and see no need to sign players.

"We will not say no if a special player comes along. Should that happen, we will consider," said Motaung as per Isolezwe.

"We are satisfied with our current squad, because some of our players had injuries, but they are back now. We signed a lot of players at the beginning of the season, and some of them have not played yet.

"It's not easy to join Chiefs; it takes time for some players to settle. They need to get used to the team [first] for everything to go accordingly. We do not want to keep on changing our squad."

There is still the CAF Confederation Cup and Nedbank Cup to play for and that leaves Chiefs facing an opportunity of ending the season with a treble.

Dithejane, a player mentioned by Khanye ended up signing for Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire FC from TS Galaxy.

A former Amakhosi development player, Dithejane was also a wanted man by Mamelodi Sundowns, not only recently but before he joined the Soweto giants.

Chiefs development coach Vela Khumalo narrates how he helped the Glamour boys secure Dithejane amid Sundowns' interest when he was still just a teenager. 

“Dithejane, remember Mamelodi Sundowns; they wanted him after seeing him in the national team. He scored the last goal in that under-17 tournament,” Khumalo told KickOff.

“And then Dithejane told me, ‘Coach, I want to play under you.’ And then Sundowns came to where he was playing at the time, at the School of Excellence, looking to sign him.

"That's when he called me on my phone, saying, 'Hey coach, Sundowns are here, and they want to sign me, but I don't want to go there; I want to play under you,'" he added.

“Then I said to him, ‘Hide there.’ Then he said to me, ‘But where can I hide here because they are already here?’ I said, ‘Under the bed, I'm coming.’

“So he hid there until I came to pick him up. That's how he ended up with me at Kaizer Chiefs. It's survival; what else can we do [laughs]?"