Kaizer Chiefs coach has high hopes for new striker

Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane hopes his new Democratic Republic of the Congo striker Christian Saile Basomboli can make his presence felt immediately but at the same time is aware not too much should be put on his shoulders.

Zwane rued his team’s missed chances in their 1-0 Premiership defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday at FNB Stadium, where the coach described his team as “terrible” in the first half but said in the second they “looked much better”. Even with such marked improvement, none of Amakhosi’s nine shots on goal was on target.

Little is known about 22-year-old Basomboli, though it has been reported he had scored seven goals in 16 games for promoted Nchanga Rangers in the Zambian Super League by the halfway stage of the 2022/2023 season. Last campaign the DRC striker’s 19 goals were reportedly instrumental in Nchanga ending second in the second-tier Division One.

“We expect Christian to come in and hit the ground running, but also we don’t want to put him under pressure,” Zwane said. “There are many other players who can take that [the scoring] responsibility.

“That’s why I’m saying it’s about hitting the target. It’s not that we don’t get to the final third. I was going to be very worried if we weren’t creating chances.

“In the second half how many times did we get into the final third or even close, like 6m, where you’d say the payer should just poke the ball, but we didn’t do that. We need a bit of composure.”

One might not expect scoring to be a major area of concern given that Chiefs have the league’s joint-top scorer, Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana, in their ranks.

However, Bimenyimana’s awkward touch and ability to miss chances — a number of his goals, including a hat-trick against Stellenbosch FC, were from the penalty spot — hinted why Chiefs dithered so long to sign the Burundian after a trial at the start of the campaign.

Zwane’s almost conflicting expectations of Basomboli reveal the coach is aware he needs a striker who can reliably bang in goals to stop a slide that has taken Amakhosi to sixth place.

While the coach has been tasked with rebuilding with an emphasis on youth, he will also be aware that Chiefs’ supporters are impatient for silverware and results after seven seasons of drought.

Besides Basomboli, Chiefs signed Botswana international centreback Thatayaone Ditlhokwe on precontract, meaning they will only play for Amakhosi next season.