Kaizer Chiefs news: Sundowns decision pending, Nabi talks talent

The South African

5 days ago

Kaizer Chiefs remain in the dark over Mamelodi Sundowns striker Etoisa Ighodaro, who has one year left on his contract.
'At the moment Chiefs are waiting on Sundowns,' a source confirmed.' Ighodaro has one year remaining on his contract with Sundowns and only if they can release him first as a free agent or if they can buy him from the remaining months on his contract.'
'Kaizer Chiefs are interested in him and depending on what Sundowns' decision is then Chiefs would still sign him before the start of the season.'
Competition is another roadblock for AmaKhosi with the 24-year-old forward reportedly weighing up his options, suggesting that a move to the Soweto giants is not set in stone if the Tshwane giants are willing to let him go.
'There's been a lot of talk about Ighodaro joining Chiefs, but the reports suggesting he has signed are inaccurate,' an insider revealed. 'He is still assessing his options both locally and abroad. Nothing has been concluded.
Kaizer Chiefs will enter next season having underperformed in the previous two campaigns, failing to qualify for the MTN8 Cup on both occasions. The 2025/26 season will undoubtably be Nasreddine Nabi's defining test – endure a series of defeats and he could be out the door before Christmas.
But it's not all doom and gloom for AmaKhosi, who have welcomed several stars, including Ethan Chislett and Flavio Silva. The gaffer mentioned how they handled the club's pre-season in Europe, saying, 'They need to fully jell with the group,' Nabi said. 'However, they are all adapting nicely, and they start to understand what I expect from them. Our objective was to sign new players that will bring us to a higher level compared to last season.
'We saw a lot of positives in our training matches against very strong Dutch opponents. The players have started to understand the way I want them to play, and they jell well as a strong unit.'
'We didn't only want quality opponents, we also wanted quantity. Parallel with this, we did some tough physical work at training, even doing double sessions on the day before a match… We even had two sessions the day after one of the friendlies, with the objective of getting the players mentally ready,' the Kaizer Chiefs boss concluded.
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