Last week it was announced that one of Kaizer Chiefs' favourite sons, Knowledge Musona, had agreed to return to Naturena on a year-long loan. The question is…can he pick up where he left off? Will he be the same deadly 'Smiling Assassin' he was before he left South African shores?
After a slow start to his Kaizer Chiefs career, the 23-year-old Zimbabwean scored 15 goals in his 2010/11 campaign with the Glamour Boys, following which he managed to secure a contract with up-and-coming German club Hoffenheim.
Just two years later, the Zimbabwean found himself in limbo, with his progress at Hoffenheim being hindered by a change of coaching staff and a subsequent loan move to FC Augsberg, which also proved to be unsuccessful.
Now he's back in Mzansi, the country where he made his name, but will he be the same deadly marksman that left South Africa in 2011?
To my mind, you never lose that natural ability to score goals, regardless of how long you spend on the sidelines. It's a gift knowing where the back of the net is and making sure you find it, and one would think that Musona will always have the ability to score goals. Also, he has often been played out of position in Europe, with his clubs using him as a winger rather than as an out-and-out striker, something that was no doubt detrimental to his game and his goal scoring.
However, seen from another angle, there is no doubt that Musona is out of practice. He's struggled at two different clubs in Germany and only managed to play about 1500 minutes of football altogether, scoring just two goals, both of them in cup competition. Yes, he has been scoring for Zimbabwe, proving that he still knows where the back of the net is, but his club football form has taken a serious nosedive. By all accounts, he is coming to the PSL to find his scoring touch again. He is coming back to try and cultivate some confidence. He has lost his mojo and is on a mission to try and rediscover it and, if you are a Kaizer Chiefs fan, you just hope it's not at the expense of the team.
Don't get me wrong, from Chiefs' point of view it's a massive signing. Without him even kicking a ball, the acquisition of Musona has issued a huge message of intent from the Amakhosi. They are going all out to defend the title they won last season and they don't want anyone else getting their hands on it. The Smiling Assassin got his goals for Chiefs under the strict rule of Vladimir Vermezovic and, with Stuart Baxter as his mentor, he may be able to do even better.
As many of you know, I recently sat down with Stuart to do an in-depth interview about his time at Chiefs up to now and honestly, he's a joy to talk to. His knowledge of the game and ability to take into account each player's needs is incredible. If anyone can get Musona scoring again, it's Baxter.
But alas, only time will tell. We don't know whether the return of one of Chiefs' favourite sons will be a success or not, but what we do know is that next season in the PSL is going to be a very, very interesting one and Knowledge Musona will no doubt be a massive part of it.
Yours in football, Joe
Soccer-Laduma journalist
Follow Joe on Twitter: @YesWeCrann
