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Kaizer Chiefs’ goalkeeper position was hotly contested last season when Daniel Akpeyi and Itumeleng Khune battled for the number one position.
Akpeyi initially had his detractors and made some high-profile mistakes. But the 34-year-old found some rhythm in the latter stages of the campaign with some good performances and ended up playing 25 league games for the Glamor Boys.
Meanwhile, Khune has been a longtime fan favorite on Chiefs, but struggled with injury and fitness issues last season.
In fact, several years have passed since the Bafana Bafana stopper has had its best consistent performance; Even in the 2018/19 season, he played only 13 times in the Absa Premiership.
Now, however, with new Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt in command and with Sunday’s first game of the season, an MTN8 quarterfinal clash with Maritzburg United, Khune has had a chance to claim his put the Nigerian.
That’s due to a clerical error, as Hunt told SAFM, cited by the Citizen website.
“Daniel is not available on Sunday, his passport has expired, it is a small administrative problem. I think Khune could be part of the team! “
A solid performance from Khune and the 33-year-old can simply regain his position as the club’s number one goalkeeper and perhaps even force his way back into the fold of the national team.
While Hunt will be happy to have someone of Khune’s quality to step in, his squad looks pretty lean in other areas of the field, especially up front where Samir Nurkovic, Leonardo Castro are injured and Lebogang Manyama is suspended.
Central defender Erick Mathotho is also unavailable and midfielder Willard Katsande is out on suspension for Sunday’s clash with Maritzburg at the FNB Stadium.
“We need reinforcements, especially since we are playing in Africa,” Hunt added.
“We have a very small team and right now we have so many, we are very thin. We have to try. [get players] if we can. Otherwise we have to look at our younger players. There are six or seven there, it is a great opportunity for them ”.
