Mamelodi Sundowns striker Kermit Erasmus says he has “huge admiration” for teammate Peter Shalulile and lauded the forward for what he achieved during the 2020-21 season.

The Namibia forward managed to bag a total of 15 goals and assisted a further six from 25 appearances to help guide the Brazilians to the DStv Premiership title.

Shalulile’s exploits for Sundowns last campaign also earned him the DStv Premiership Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season awards, while finishing second on the goalscoring charts behind Golden Boot-winner Bradley Grobler.

“He is a great, humble guy, great person, works very hard, selfless and he deserves everything that has achieved,” Kermit Erasmus told the media.

“You can see on the field, relentless when he is on the field, the fighting spirit and he is always positive. He is a brother to me, we grew closer the past season as brothers.

“I help him where I can. He always wants to learn; he is always open for that and never criticises or says anything bad about other players. He is a good person.

“He deserves what has achieved this season. Congratulations to him. He worked hard and was close to getting the top-goalscorer award as well. If he scored in the first half, he could have challenged [Bradley] Grobler; unfortunately, didn’t happen. He knows I am fond of him. I have huge admiration for him as a person before him as a player.”

Over the course of the 2020-21 season, Shalulile featured 39 times for the Brazilians and went on to find the back of the net 22 times, while assisting eight in the process.