'You're talking about Jabu Pule-Mahlangu!' Kaizer Chiefs coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef cautioned about Luke Baartman as ex-Cape Town Spurs star can 'fool you' and 'he needs a coach that would understand him'

Former Orlando Pirates star Benson Mhlongo has made a sensational comparison between Kaizer Chiefs' new signing Luke Baartman and ex-Bafana Bafana attacker Jabu Pule-Mahlangu.

Baartman is among the new signings at Naturena, and the teenager has been tipped to shine with the Soweto giants. However, Mholngo has stated that the former Cape Town Spurs sensation needs the right coaching in order to develop into a top player.  

"He's a special player; when you talk about Luke Baartman, you're talking about Jabu Pule (Mahlangu), you're talking about (Patrick) 'Ace' Ntsoelengoe; he's a special player, a very special player," Mhlongo told Soccer Laduma.  

"He does things you won't believe. The only thing is, he is not an aggressive training player. When you look at him at training, he will fool you because he doesn't go 50/50 (in challenges); he doesn't want to hurt his teammates; he goes easy," the former Bucs star added.

"But when it comes to match days, he will show you flames. He needs a coach who would understand him, as at training, he is not aggressive. He just prepares himself," the former Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates defender went on.

"But on matchdays, he will win you matches. We had to take him out of the injury for him to help us (at Cape Town Spurs). We had to ask him to sacrifice just for a few games; there are games he won (by himself) for us. That's why they (Chiefs) snatched him because they saw the quality."

Recently, Chiefs coach Kaze had to clarify why the new signing was training with the DDC side. There were fears Amakhosi were relegating the striker; however, the Burundian tactician explained that that is only part of the integration the new signing is undergoing. 

“I don’t know, but it’s how football works. If a player is a little bit late on the physical condition or even on the tactical and technical conditions in every team in the world, the weekend he plays with the reserve, then he comes back to the first team, and then he can play three days after with the first team, but it doesn’t mean that you are downgrading him to the DDC team," Kaze clarified.

“I repeat again, he's a player that was bought and that was brought to play for the first team, and he will be with the first team," he added.

“If in my team I had a player like Themba Zwane, if there was no age-related issue, would I put him to play DDC? No! Why? Because he’s a player who has seen it all."

Unlike his former teammate at Urban Warriors, Asenele Velebayi, Baartman is yet to make his Amakhosi debut. 

His delayed debut is partly because of his recent engagement with the junior national side, Amajita, that took part in the U20 FIFA World Cup. 

His move to Chiefs was officially cleared after the South African Football Association (SAFA) arbitrator Hilton Epstein declared him a free agent.

The SAFA arbitrator agreed with the ruling by the Premier Soccer League’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC), which had set him free to join the Glamour Boys. Baartman's move had been delayed after Cape Town Spurs claimed he was still their player, as they argued that he had a running contract.

However, the relegated outfit lost the case, setting Baartman, Velebayi, and Liam Bern free to join the clubs of their choice. Bern, consequently, moved to AmaZulu.