Orlando Pirates legend Makhanya asks club 'never to sell Shonga'

Former Orlando Pirates winger Joseph Makhanya has pleaded with the Soweto giants to be patient with forward Justin Shonga, saying the Zambian can form a “deadly” attacking combination with Frank Mhango and Tshegofatso Mabasa.

Shonga struggled for playing minutes last season and managed just 11 appearances across all competitions and did not score any goals.

This has led to rumours that the player wants a move away from Pirates, with reported interest in him coming from Portugal, Spain and Egypt.

Also being booted out of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) bio-bubble for disciplinary reasons heightened speculation about the Zambian’s Bucs future.

But Makhanya feels that Shonga can be important for Pirates if he stays, with coach Josef Zinnbauer just needing to instill confidence in his forward who has spent three seasons at the club.

“Pirates have got the material. You see Shonga, it is all about the coach having confidence in you. We have got Mabasa, we have Mhango,” Makhanya told Goal.

“It is all about giving confidence to your players and starting them also. At the endof the day you show them love and they can also respond with some good performance.

“If you check Mabasa is a different player from Mhango. Mhango is also a different player from Shonga. The three of them have different qualities which can make the attack of Orlando Pirates deadly.

“You know strikers are rare to find, you know. If you check the age of Mhango, you check the age of Mabasa, they are all players who can develop into lethal strikers. With age they can become better.

“They must never sell Shonga. He is a young man, he needs a serious talk with the coach as well as confidence from the coach and he can become right.”

The lack of an effective combination could be seen by what appears to be over-reliance on Mhango who finished the PSL season as joint top goal-scorer with Peter Shalulile on 16 goals.

Mabasa on the other hand ended the campaign with seven league goals from 22 games.

When Mhango struggled for to score especially in the PSL bio-bubble, other Pirates forwards were unable to replace the Malawian's goals output. Zakhele Lepasa, Augustine Mulenga, Vincent Pule, Thembinkosi Lorch and Kabelo Dlamini all struggled when called upon.