Kaizer Chiefs legend Itumeleng Khune has named Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana midfielder Thalente Mbatha as his favourite player with the long-range shots he unleashes.
The 25-year-old lanky attacker was a key figure for the Buccaneers under Jose Riveiro in the past two seasons but has somewhat been relegated to the bench under the tutelage of Abdeslam Ouaddou in the current campaign.
Even though the KwaMashu-born midfielder has featured just 13 times for the Buccaneers across all competitions this season, Khune says Mbatha will punish you should he be afforded space.
“Mbatha has been my favourite and obviously, he reminds me of Hlompho Kekana with his powerful shot,” Khune said on Soccerzone.
“Don’t give him a little bit of space because he will punish you. All the goals that he has scored both for Pirates and Bafana has been from outside the box.
“I’m glad that he grew up watching Hlompho Kekana and we knew what Hlompho Kekana did best during his playing days.
“I think he’s such a great player, a hard worker even though he doesn’t get enough game time at his club, but the coach still believes in him and when he gets to Bafana, he shows his quality, he shows that I deserve to be in the Bafana team.
“And I deserve to be in the starting 11 for my team.”
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