Should Kaizer Chiefs pounce on THIS Orlando Pirates striker?
Kaizer Chiefs want to add some attacking quality to their team ahead of the next season and should they be looking at rivals Orlando Pirates?
![Should Kaizer Chiefs pounce on THIS Orlando Pirates striker?](https://www.thesouthafrican.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Erasmus-Mabasa-Lepasa.webp?#)
Orlando Pirates are believed to be on the market for a striker, but already have a few.
One of those strikers being Zakhele Lepasa, who is again rumoured for the Pirates exit door!
Lepasa started the season well for Pirates, going on the pre-season tour to Spain and doing enough to stay. The player was then upgraded to the number nine jersey after the departure of Tshegofatso Mabasa on loan. That move seemed to do the trick for the Bafana Bafana international as he rediscovered his scoring boots.
Lepasa has fallen down the Pirates pecking order
But a mixture of injuries and falling out of favour has since seen Lepasa on the peripheries of the Pirates squad. The striker has hardly featured in match day squads for the Buccaneers in 2024, despite suggestions he is not injured. With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, indications are he may well leave. This publication reported on Friday, however, that there are, contract talks thought to be underway.
But with the writing seemingly on the wall for Lepasa at Pirates, should arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs be monitoring the situation? Amakhosi have struggled to find the right striker who, is both mobile and physical. They have had either or in the likes of Ashley du Preez, Wandile Duba, Ranga Chivaviro and Jasond Gonzalez this season. It is then no surprise that the club has been failing to find the back of the net regularly for the last four seasons now.
Should Chiefs consider a move for him?
Lepasa gives you strength, pace and finishing. He would be able to hold up play and also peel off the defender and run in behind. He has also proven for both Pirates and Bafana that, if backed and given a run, he can score goals for you. The ex-TS Galaxy man also has a big personality with a touch of arrogance that is needed for a striker. What also works in Chiefs favour is that, he is a boyhood Amakhosi fan.
His falling off at Pirates is a strange one, as Lepasa started the season off so well. He is also a bronze medal winner at Afcon with the national side. It is now becoming clear that, for whatever reason, he will not be fancied by coach Jose Riveiro. This is where Chiefs should take a chance and pounce,
Lepasa once revealed that, he was turned down by the Chiefs academy by club legend Arthur Zwane. That had since added to his steely determination to do well against them every chance he gets. Furthermore, he has just turned 27 and should be hitting his prime years. Should he come ‘home’ and enjoy them as a Glamour Boy, as part of their new era?