The agent of the Orlando Pirates striker has revealed that the club made a clear call on Boitumelo Radiopane.
Despite the noise around his lack of minutes and growing speculation during the transfer window, the Buccaneers are holding on to the 23-year-old striker until at least the end of the season.
MIKE MAKAAB UPDATE ON BOITUMELO RADIOPANE
Radioipane rose rapidly through the ranks after joining the club’s academy at just 15, making a serious statement in the DStv Diski Challenge.
He finished as top scorer and Player of the Season in both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 reserve league campaigns, including a remarkable 24-goal haul in the latter.
Those performances earned him a promotion to the senior setup, before a loan move to Cape Town Spurs between 2022 and 2024 to gain regular top-flight minutes. During that spell, he played a role in helping Spurs secure promotion to the elite division.
But momentum proved hard to sustain. A series of setbacks, including a serious injury described as “career-threatening” and recurring hamstring problems, disrupted his progress.
The injuries limited his game time both while on loan and after his return to Orlando Pirates, slowing a once-promising rise.
In just four appearances across all competitions this term, Radiopane found the net in the final game before the Africa Cup of Nations break.
The Sebokeng-born striker scored a well-taken scorcher against Carling All Stars in the Carling Black Label Cup.
Radiopane’s agent, Mike Makaab, has confirmed that a January loan move is off the table, even though it was discussed earlier in the season.
STAYING PUT AT ORLANDO PIRATES
The feeling now is that the striker needs continuity, fitness and a proper run to show what he can offer in black and white. Makaab believes the next stretch of the season will define everything.
“All is good with him. Let’s hope he can build on what he did in the Carling,” Makaab told Soccer Laduma. “Hopefully he is over his injuries. I think the next four or five months are going to be very important for the young man. He will not be leaving at this point,” Makaab added.
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