Names of Kaizer Chiefs DDC players set to join Nasreddine Nabi in pre-season camp revealed after winning league title - 'You’ll see others in different PSL teams, whether on loan or permanently'

Kaizer Chiefs’ DStv Diski Challenge (DDC) coach Vela Khumalo has revealed his players who will join the Nasreddine Nabi-led senior team in the pre-season.

Matlaba Kabelo Nkgwesa, Thulani Mabaso, and Takalani Mazhamba, according to Khumalo, are expected to be part of the pre-season with their senior counterparts.

Apart from those joining Nabi's side, the South Africa under-17 head coach said he expects some of his players to join other Premier Soccer League sides.

“Players like Matlaba [Kabelo Nkgwesa], [Thulani] Mabaso, and Takalani [Mazhamba] will go to the preseason with the first team,” Khumalo said, as quoted by Sowetan Live.

“We’re not necessarily saying we’re promoting them, but we’re saying if the first team can just take them for the preseason and do their own assessment. You’ll see others in different PSL teams, whether on loan or permanently.

“This is by far the best year of my coaching career after qualifying the U-17 for the World Cup and now winning the DDC title. This tops winning the Cosafa Cup with the U17 national team,” Khumalo added.

Khumalo also pointed out the importance of keeping the DDC team intact. He gave examples of players who either got promoted or moved elsewhere, arguing that this caused disturbance.

“More than the talent that the boys have, it was keeping the same team through the season that helped us win the title. In the past three seasons that I’ve been here, we were promoting players to the first team, so that on its own was a disturbance to our team. You remember your Mdu [Shabalala], your Samkelo [Zwane], your [Wandile] Duba,” Khumalo explained.

“At some point, we also lost players like Omega [Mdaka] and Puso [Dithejane]. Had we kept those players, we’d have won it a little bit earlier. The rhythm of the team had always been affected by promoting players, but that’s good because we’re a feeder team at the end of the day," he concluded.

Khumalo's side not only won the title but also made a record by collecting 70 points, the first-ever side to do so since the PSL reserve league was established over a decade ago.

They were given a guard of honour at Dobsonville Stadium by AmaZulu before they went on to thrash their opponents 5-0 in their final game of the season.

Apart from the players Khumalo revealed will go to the pre-season, Imaad Hendricks, Ozoemena, Naledi Hlongwane, Manqoba Ozoemena, and Siphesihle Tati are the other players who shone for the club.

Now fans will be eager to know if these players will be permanently promoted or if they will return and continue serving the DDC side.

The Amakhosi fans will also be keen to see which players will opt to transfer to other sides.

Promotion or transfer of key players is set to have some impact on the team come next season, and whether they will retain the title if they lose stars is a question that every fan will be asking themselves.