Orlando Pirates legend Benedict “Tso” Vilakazi has welcomed the club’s new signing of Andre de Jong from Stellenbosch.
The retired midfielder feels the Buccaneers have a quality player who can play two critical positions in the second half of the season.
The Kiwi star has been a vital player for Stellies in recent years and brings experience and commitment to the club.
This week, Orlando Pirates announced De Jong as their first signing of the January transfer.
“He’s a very good player, I like him, I saw him when he was playing for Royal AM and then Stellenbosch. He’s a very smart player, very intelligent, good with the ball, good without the ball,” Vilakazi was quoted on Soccer Laduma.
“He can play as a false number nine, he can play as a number ten, he can play as a winger but a winger that tucks inside. That’s a good signing from Pirates to balance the team.”
Tso feels Orlando Pirates new signing will stabilise the team
The former Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder said De Jong will not struggle to adjust to the team culture, given his assimilation into local football.
“It also helps the stability of the team, in terms of the colour part, to say sinengamla, ungamla uhlakaniphile (we have a smart white player). Umlungu umnyama (a white guy who is black inside),” Vilakazi suggested.
“Because when he plays, if somebody can hear his name being called on the radio, they can even think that he’s black, because he plays like black players. He’s skillful, he knows how to create chances, he knows how to score.”
So far, Orlando Pirates have announced De Jong as the only new signing in this transfer window. The club has announced the departures of Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Sinoxolo Kwayiba.