Orlando Pirates may be pondering whether the reported R10 million investment on Gilberto will take some time before giving back dividends after head coach Jose Riveiro did not live up to expectations on the Angolan star.
Gilberto's signing brought excitement to the Pirates supporters during the off-season, especially after the 23-year-old scored in a 1-1 draw against Spanish outfit Granada in the pre-season friendly.
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The Angolan was arguably the Buccaneers biggest signing before the acquisition of Deano Van Rooyen from Stellenbosch with the season already underway.
After being ruled out for Pirates in the CAF Champions League first preliminary round due to work permit issues, Gilberto was expected to play a significant role, after he soon got the greenlight.
However, the former Petro de Luanda star midfielder has seemingly not caught up with the game demands at the Soweto giants and in the PSL, after only notably coming off the bench in the last quarter of an hour in the Buccaneers' two MTN8 semi-final clashes against Cape Town City, where he was largely anonymous.
The Angolan has not been used since then, as he only had a three-minute, blink-and-you-missed-it cameo appearance in Ezimnyama's 2-0 win over Jwaneng Galaxy, in the CAF Champions League second preliminary round, first-leg.
Gilberto also watched the full 90 minutes plus added time of Pirates' last-gasp 2-1 win over Chippa United in the Betway Premiership opener, on the bench, with youngsters such as Thuso Moleleki and Boitumelo Radiopane getting minutes off the bench instead.
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As is normally the case with foreign signings, the Angolan attacker could take some time to get used to the rhythm and quality in the league, as it his first time leaving the Luanda home comforts.
However, Pirates would be hoping Gilberto does not join a long list of foreign players who could not live up to expectations straight from other countries to SA in recent years, including the likes of Marou Souaibou, Austin Muwowo and Jean-Marc Makusu.
