Kaizer Chiefs’ proposed revival under head head coach Arthur Zwane is yet to take off and there are indications that they could still be in need of reinforcements.
reported currently on sale, that Cape Town City centre-back Taariq Fielies in open to a move to Chiefs.
The KosiBay News has been led to believe by well placed sources that Fielies would be keen on a switch to Gauteng.
However, Fielies is contracted to the Citizens and should Amakhosi be keen, they will have to negotiate a transfer fee with City for his services.
The KosiBay News assesses whether Chiefs are in need of a centre-back and what the towering defender can bring to the club:
Struggles aerially
Amakhosi are yet to establish a consistent centre-back pairing, as Siyabonga Ngezana, initially partnered with Zitha Kwinika, was criticized in losses against Mamelodi Sundowns and the Citizens.
However, Njabulo Ngcobo has also shown his frailties, as he his prone to making errors at the back and the Glamour Boys continued to struggle aerially, particularly in their MTN8 quarter-final against Stellenbosch.
Chiefs were somewhat fortunate not to concede more goals against Steve Barker’s charges, as Sihle Nduli was denied by the crossbar twice from set-piece situations.
Leadership
There is questions marks on whether there is a leader in Chiefs’ back-line, as they have shown lack of communication, particularly in forced errors that led to goals in a defeat Mamelodi Sundowns, in a win against Richards Bay, where Yusuf Maart got a red-card and against Stellenbosch, where Ngcobo gave the ball away cheaply as a last defender.
The return of veteran goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune has seemingly papered over the cracks of leadership issues somewhat, as he has been able to offer stability at the back.
However, in the long run, Chiefs will need a leader at the back, who will not be afraid to give instructions.
Depth
There seem to be room for improvement, in so far as depth is concerned at Chiefs, as their options on the bench do not look strong enough to be starters.
In the centre-back options, apart from Ngezana, Amakhosi only have Eric Mathoho, who has been linked with an exit from the club and Thabani Dube, who has turned down a proposed loan move, as reported in issue 1290 of the newspaper.
Dove factor
As previously reported by the Siya crew, Chiefs are understood to have launched a bid for City left-back Terrence Mashego, who has also told this publication that he has ambitions of playing for the Naturena-based side.
However, after Amakhosi acquired the services of Edmilson Dove, who built his name at the Citizens, they look to have addressed their left-back issues and their priorities in defence could switch to centre-back, where they have looked shaky.
