Following his impressive performance and goalscoring display in the Carling Black Label Cup, young striker Naledi Hlongwane is set for promotion to the Kaizer Chiefs senior team, much like Mfundo Vilakazi last year.
Insiders at the club have indicated that the 17-year-old's rise has been in the works for some time, coinciding with his standout appearance for the Carling Black Label All Star XI that beat Magesi to the cup on the weekend.
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The sources added that the Vaal-born striker has been training with the main Amakhosi squad, undergoing assessment by the senior team's technical staff led by coach Nasreddine Nabi. His promotion was in the planning long before the Carling Black Label Cup, a match which highlighted his potential to the public.
"It's unfortunate that people saw him score and win Man of the Match while playing for the Carling Black Label Cup XI but he has been training with Chiefs' senior team and they were happy with his performance both at training and for the DDC team. But it's okay that people have seen what he can do and that gives the technical team the chance to believe in him more. His promotion was planned way before he was voted into the Carling Black Label XI and his performance just proved the coaches right about their decision to promote him," the Siya source stated.
A second insider clarified that while Hlongwane's promotion is part of a strategy for long-term team building, it does not affect the club's plans to acquire an experienced striker in the upcoming January transfer window.
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"His promotion is part of building for the future and has nothing to do with looking for an experienced striker in the January transfer window period. That's still on. This is a long-term project which involves all the youngsters that the club is promoting to the senior team for the present as well as the future. The signing of the experienced striker is to bring back the glory days and is the immediate goal while the youngsters are learning from the senior players," the second source stated.
Hailing from Evaton North, Hlongwane joined the Kaizer Chiefs development side after being recommended by his development coach Zacharia Nale in Vanderbijlpark to then-Chiefs youth coach Arthur Zwane. The rest, as they say, is history.
Attempts to reach Chiefs for comment were unsuccessful at the time of publishing.
