Orlando Pirates appear to have found a promising new striker in Sifiso Luthuli, which could be concerning news for Tshegofatso Mabasa.
Luthuli made a strong impression during the Buccaneers’ 2-0 victory over Carling All Stars in the Carling Black Label Cup, where he scored one of the goals and impressed supporters with his performance.
With regular striker Evidence Makgopa away with the national team, Bafana Bafana, Yanela Mbuthuma had the opportunity to showcase his skills to coach Abdeslam Ouaddou. However, it was Lithuli and Boitumelo Radiopane who ultimately found the back of the net.
In contrast, another key Pirates striker, Tshegofatso Mabasa, was not included in the matchday squad against All Stars.
The 29-year-old forward has been sidelined for several weeks, even though he scored four goals in nine appearances across all competitions this season.
His future at the club remains uncertain as he currently finds himself lower in the pecking order.
Will Mabasa play for Pirates again?
Ouaddou did not mention Mabasa’s absence but praised Luthuli for his showing on Saturday.
“About Luthuli, sometimes you don’t need two weeks or one month to see a good player unfortunately he was injured for a long time. But definitely he is a player who can surprise many people in the second part of the season,” Ouaddou told the media.
“I was with Mr Robert Marawa on his show, he was asking me what are my wishes for the second half of the season – I said maybe a striker but I think I have to say that we don’t need striker we have one at the club and we will do with him.”
“He is a good player.”
With Mabasa likely to be a fourth-choice striker in January, it remains to be seen if Pirates will sell their top player, given he is just a few goals shy of breaking their all-time goalscoring record.