iDiski TV analyst Junior Khanye has praised new Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Nuno Santos however doesn’t think the latter should be compared to Lucas Ribeiro.
Santos joined Sundowns just before deadline day last month from Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes and he got off the mark impressively in their 4-1 league win over Richards Bay.
Khanye said Santos is doing well, has his own qualities however different to the Brazilian and Sundowns can’t use him the same way.
“Well done to Nuno he knows football, but Nuno is a different player, and I can’t compare him to Ribeiro,” said Khanye on iDiski TV.
“I’m going to be straight forward, if they are saying they are replacing Ribeiro with Nuno they can’t be saying that. Nuno has his own qualities and he’s honestly not a bad player, but Ribeiro had individual brilliance and could win a game while the likes of Nuno need teamwork from how he plays.
“He’s a talented player, skilful and can be a team player as well and I want to see him take some responsibility. He can contribute to the team, he clicks with the team but he doesn’t have that brilliance Ribeiro has to win matches alone.”
The former South African junior international went on to say Sundowns look like a shadow of their dominating character and that in his opinion, players don’t look like they want to play for Miguel Cardoso.
“Let us be realistic and not be scared to say this, Sundowns is a different team they have dropped dismally,” added Khanye.
“We need to be realistic. Yes, they’ve got high profile players but I’m not too sure if the players want to play for Cardoso. I’m looking at the body language of certain players and I’m not too sure about it. That’s how I see it.
“A totally different team, they didn’t create chances today, they lacked creativity and didn’t have that arrogance in front of goal. Sundowns have not been convincing we need to be realistic and not be scared to say it the same way we compliment a good thing.”
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