Youth has been a big theme for Kaizer Chiefs this season, so who are their three most exciting prospects?

Although Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi is counting on the next transfer window effective 1 July to transform the club, he may still want to consider building the future around a few names.

Under sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jnr, the Glamour Boys have made it clear the way forward includes youth academy products.

SoccerClub takes a closer look at three development graduates that have played more minutes combined under Nabi than any other Chiefs coach since being promoted to the first team.

MDUDUZI SHABALALA
Age: 21
Position: Forward

It was a no-brainer for Chiefs to promote Shabalala during the 2021/22 campaign and get his senior debut under then coach Arthur Zwane.

After all, the player had been turning heads in the DStv Diski Challenge with a performance that no one could ignore. Perhaps the roller-coaster ride the team endured in what was subsequently Zwane’s first full season several months later also contributed to Shabalala’s progress stalling – even more so under Molefi Ntseki and Cavin Johnson.

Despite all three coaches being firm believers in the youth system, the pressure of needing to end Chiefs’ trophy drought likely affected a player lacking experience like Shabalala in an environment where there was now no room for error.

Chiefs also declined an offer from Belgium outfit Westerlo to take Shabalala on loan with a commitment to buy him outright.

The club felt he was worth a lot more than what their international counterparts were offering.

Nabi now finds the forward he can count on for goals, albeit with a disclaimer that AmaKhosi do still need a goal poacher.

Shabalala has stepped up when needed, scoring and getting Chiefs out of tricky situations when Ranga Chivaviro lost form.

The fact that he can cover as the lone striker upfront or slot in at a wide position when needed increases his chances of playing regularly. However, the question remains: will Nabi be patient?

WANDILE DUBA
Age: 20
Position: Winger

Gavin Hunt, a former Chiefs coach whose spell at Naturena coincided with the FIFA transfer ban, has in the past alluded to the fact that you never want a young player to carry the team on his own.

Hunt was adamant that you always need experience to guide the rookies. Duba is one such young player that, with more established players around him, can thrive in a Chiefs shirt.

Maybe as a regular for a full season the winger could then be a key player a year later, but how AmaKhosi dipped in their form following an impressive start with Nabi at the helm proves the coach’s point about needing to be aggressive in the upcoming transfer window.

Duba desperately needs competition at Chiefs – their lack of depth has been to the detriment of Diski Challenge graduates like the junior international.

Four months into the Nabi’s tenure at the club, Duba had not been able to play the full 90 minutes in any of the matches he had started, a statistic that provides further evidence to Gavin Hunt’s statement.

MFUNDO VILAKAZI
Age: 19
Position: Attacking midfield

His trajectory is almost similar to his Chiefs teammates, but more amplified in that Vilakazi was playing in the famous Philly’s Games before being recruited to the AmaKhosi youth academy in January 2022.

‘Obrigado’ went from borrowing boots to signing a professional contract with the Soweto giants and fighting for a place in the starting line-up under Nabi.

While his ability has never been in doubt, the Tunisian mentor’s default setting has been to use Vilakazi sparingly even after games in which he has been the difference for the club coming off the bench.

In that role as a substitute, the junior international offers Chiefs speedy, trickery and often knows how to bring the energy levels up.

Vilakazi only managed seven matches in the final few weeks of Johnson’s tenure, but had already played three more in the first four months under Nabi, scoring one goal by Christmas.

Chiefs spent the past two transfer windows chasing players of the same calibre in Oswin Appollis and Asanele Velebayi, both two years older than Vilakazi, and this does leave a question mark over his future when the club does eventually reinforce.

What the duo have over ‘Obrigado’ is experience playing in a professional set up and even at senior national team level.
With all his talent, Vilakazi remains a player yet to be tried and tested at a club that no longer has time to experiment when their fans want silverware.