Former Kaizer Chiefs star Junior Khanye has found himself a favorite in young sensation Mduduzi Shabalala and is all for his showboating, only if done in a positive way.
This after Chiefs produced a narrow 1-0 victory over archrivals Pirates late into the game during the Soweto derby at the FNB Stadium at the weekend.
The match saw Shabalala become the talk of the town with his dribbling skills and kasiflavour.
Khanye heaped praise on the dribbling wizard, saying he regards him as one of the best talents produced by Amakhosi in a long time.
“The boy [Shabalala] is one the best talents I’ve ever witnessed after a while from the development ranks at Kaizer Chiefs,” Khanye said in an interview with Sunday World on Wednesday.
“I give credit to the person who identified him, although I feel there is a lot of room for improvement in his development, because I think he still needs to understand certain principles of the game.
“Truly speaking, out of all the attackers that Chiefs have currently, he is the best. With his talent, he can go far. He is still young and I am glad that he is South African.”
Khanye also reminisced of his own dribbling days and advised the Amakhosi prodigy to continue doing what he does best, but in a more offensive way.
“I loved dribbling, I used to do it during my time as a player, myself and Thabiso Malatsi. In fact, all Daveyton-based players used to dribble a lot,” Khanye said.
“I want him [Shabalala] to continue doing what he does, but I just want him to do it more going forward and in the half of the opponent, that way he will intimidate them and force them to mistakes at the back.”
Despite the Soweto derby not having lived up to expectations, the 19-year-old was able to keep the crowd entertained and on the edge of their seats every time he touched the ball.
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