One of LALIGA's most high-profile African stars has exclusively told us that his "best mate" Stephane Aziz Ki, linked with Orlando Pirates, could look to join an African club capable of winning the CAF Champions League.
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The 28-year-old midfielder has emerged as a transfer target for several top African clubs, a list that reportedly includes Egyptian giants Pyramids and Zamalek, and South Africa's Pirates.
With 14 goals for Tanzanian outfit Young Africans so far this season, Aziz Ki has received widespread recognition for his efforts. His deal in Tanzania expires at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, making him an attractive option for clubs on the continent, or potentially even overseas, looking to bolster their midfield.
Aziz Ki is a Burkina Faso international who played at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast alongside former Chelsea and Aston Villa winger Bertrand Traore, whom Soccer Laduma was recently able to speak to.
We asked the current Villarreal star, who is among 22 African players in LALIGA vying for this season's edition of the Africa MVP, about his compatriot's future, and he had nice things to say about the player he called his "best mate" in the Burkina Faso dressing room.
"This is a nice question because Aziz is one of my best mates… he is like my best mate in the national team," he told Soccer Laduma.
"I'm always in the room with him, we're always together and I spoke to him even two days ago. For me, he is one of the best players of the national team. Obviously he is playing in Africa, but he is so talented, he is so gifted.
"Yeah, he has been linked with many teams and we spoke about everything, and I told him I will hope and wish the best for him. I think he is going to make a good decision. He can still improve. Last season, he was already very good and then this season he is even much better. I think he can still go up, try get a team that can win the African Champions League or something.
"We're going to wait and see."
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Traore has been capped on an impressive 79 occasions for Burkina Faso, while Aziz Ki has amassed 15 international appears since his debut in 2017.
