Kaizer Chiefs will be releasing a multitude of talent to other clubs this January.

Kaizer Chiefs are set to make big changes to playing personnel in the current PSL transfer window.

Moreover, some players will be loaned out. Whilst, other Amakhosi stars will be released permanently.

Recommended: Kaizer Chiefs & Orlando Pirates Transfer News | Mofokeng OUT, Tau IN

FULL LIST OF CHIEFS STARS HEADING OUT

• Aden McCarthy
• Zitha Kwinika
• Thatayaone Ditlhokwe
• George Matlou
• Christian Saille

McCarthy and Saille were both initially not a part of Nabi’s plans.

However, due to Chiefs failing to sign a striker in the last transfer window they had to keep Saile at the club. Meanwhile, McCarthy is yet to feature.

Meaning, the DDC academy product will likely be loaned out given the current pecking order.

DEPTH TO LEAD TO DEPARTURES

As things stand, Rushwin Dortley and Inacio Miguel are Chiefs’ first choice centre backs.

Additionally, Given Msimango is the preferred replacement. So, both Kwinika and Ditlhokwe are likely heading out of Naturena.

Furthermore, midfielder, Matlou is linked with a probable departure out of Naturena too.

“It’s clear that he’s not in the coach’s plans and he might be offloaded as early as January,” an insider reported on Phakaaati.

Ultimately, Chiefs have Gaston Sirino, Yusuf Maart, Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Edson Castillo and Mduduzi Shabalala in the midfield. He is unlikely to get any game time if he stays at Naturena.

Therefore, it is in the aforementioned players best interest to find a new club in order to play more frequently. This is essential to their international ambitions.

Six Kaizer Chiefs players will be out of contract in June and many of them are likely not to renew.

In July, the Soweto giants recruited Nasreddine Nabi as their new head coach and the Tunisian has brought noticeable changes to the club. Under his leadership, Amakhosi have won four of their first seven league matches and are currently sixth in the Betway Premiership.

Kaizer Chiefs have six players out of contract end of the season

With the January transfer window opening in four weeks, Kaizer Chiefs are more likely to bring in new players. That will ultimately mean that those who are out of contract soon might either be sold or allowed to leave for free.

We look at six Kaizer Chiefs players whose contracts expires next year in June.

Yusuf Maart

The 29-year-old has not been in the best of form this season but in the last two matches, he has shown improvement. Nabi has backed his vice-captain to improve this season which could earn him a contract extension.

Amakhosi to bring in new players in January

Edmilson Dove

The Mozambican utility player is currently out injured and might have to fight for his place back into the team. it remains unlikely that Kaizer Chiefs would extend Dove’s contract given the fact that he is yet to feature this season.

Edson Castillo

The 30-year-old suffered an injury that kept him out for months. Before his injury, he showed flashes of brilliance and might have a chance to fight for his place in the team when he recovers. Nabi has shown faith in him and it won’t be a surprise if Kaizer Chiefs offer him a new contract

Ranga Chivaviro

The 31-year-old striker is one of Nabi’s favourites. Having banged three goals already this season, it won’t be a surprise to see Ranga extend his Chiefs stay by a year or two. In the past two matches, however, he has lost his place to in-form Ashley du Preez.

George Matlou

Matlou has not featured this season due to an injury. He will likely leave in January as Nabi doesn’t seem to have plans for him.

Reeve Frosler

The right-back has been a regular under Nabi and he will likely negotiate a new contract with Kaizer Chiefs in the coming months.

Orlando Pirates star Relebohile Mofokeng is reportedly attracting interest from Spanish giants Barcelona FC!

The incredibly talented winger has taken the Premier Soccer League (PSL) by storm after making his first team debut in 2023.

At the tender age of 20-years-old, Mofokeng has already made 57 appearances for the Buccaneers. Mofokeng has scored 10 goals while assisting 14 more thus far.

And now, reports suggest the Orlando Pirates wizard has caught the eye of Barcelona FC!

Orlando Pirates star linked with Barcelona move

“There have been enquiries from Barcelona on Relebohile Mofokeng. The boy has been monitored by the coaches of the Barcelona B team with interest,” an insider told Soccer Laduma regarding the Orlando Pirates sensation.

“They have been following him and made approaches with some of their contacts in the PSL, including certain coaches they know closely, asking about the player.

“He is a player with potential to play in some of the top leagues in Europe and the feedback has been positive on the enquiries made.”

In other news, Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has opened up on his future at the club.

The Buccaneers are in red-hot form this season, and the last thing fans would like to see is losing their serial-winning coach!

Jose has already lifted three MTN8 titles as well as two Nedbank Cup trophies since joining Orlando Pirates just over two years ago.

With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, the Spanish tactician has confirmed he’ll be holding key talks with the club’s management to decide the way forward.

Jose opens up on Orlando Pirates future

“It’s a good question. It’s probably an important one for many people. I’ll give the standard answer and say right now we are in a very important period of the season. We are not even half way into the season,” the Orlando Pirates mentor told Marawa Sports World as quoted by Soccer Laduma.

“It’s true that I’m ending my contract in the current season. There’ll probably be a moment where we can sit down and have that conversation.

“Let’s see what happens after that, but right now it’s a moment for the team and fans to stay together because we work so hard to find ourselves in the situation Orlando Pirates are in right now.

“We are in the business of football. And, you never know what’s going to happen but we will have a moment to talk about it.”

Tens of thousands of churchgoers congregated at Kaizer Chiefs‘ home ground on Saturday, December 1.

Churches from up and down the country made their way to attend the sixth annual National Day of Prayer event hosted by the Motsepe Foundation.

Don’t worry Kaizer Chiefs fans, FNB Stadium is still yours.

Why FNB Stadium?

Nestled in Johannesburg’s Nasrec district, the 94,000-seater stadium is the largest in South Africa, eclipsing Ellis Park by 32,000.

The National Day of Prayer event was a packed-out show, suggesting that Kaizer Chiefs’ home stadium was their best, and only option – it’s expected to take place in the same venue next year.

Panic for Kaizer Chiefs?

Following a 2-1 midweek victory against Richards Bay, Nasreddine Nabi’s side was confident heading into their Royal AM fixture and put the visitors on the back foot early, scoring two goals in the opening two minutes.

Kaizer Chiefs led until the 51st minute and then conceded in the 89th minute thanks to a Levy Mashiane goal – the game finished 2-2.

We feel that today is a lack of professionalism,” Nabi reported after the game.

“We could’ve ended the first half with five or six to nil, this game could have had seven or eight [goals]

It was another poor showing for club-captain Yusuf Maart, who has been the victim of public outctry’s.

In Maart’s defense, Nabi said, “Yes, I think this is a problem for confidence, for himself. Yusuf sometimes receives too many attacks. It’s difficult, mentally it’s difficult,

“I think the last game, and today, it’s not bad. He gave an excellent performance. Today, I think he gave a good performance.

“I want to see more confidence for himself, and he continues to progress”

The Springboks head into their final Test of the year on Saturday, and it’s virtually impossible to see anything but a resounding victory against an embattled Wales team that has lost 11 matches in a row.

If the Springboks finish the season with 11 victories from 13, they will come away from 2024 with an impressive 84.6% win record – which would be exactly the same as last year.

Interestingly, Rassie Erasmus acknowledged this week that they were mindful of these statistics, and what it means to the team.

“It means a lot. When you lose, you quickly find out how much it means if you win,” said Erasmus.

“In my first year I remember my win record was 50% and us beating New Zealand in New Zealand gave us some breathing space. It’s important for South Africa and for us to keep on winning while experimenting.

“But somewhere, the experimenting must stop and we must settle and we have that target in mind.

“World rankings is less important to us than chopping and changing, but we have to find that momentum of playing together so that whoever slots in, we keep the momentum on defence and attack.”

This Saturday’s season-ending Test against Wales kicks off at 19:40 SA time, and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Springboks v Wales teams and match information

South Africa (updated): 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Thomas du Toit.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Handre Pollard.

Wales: 15 Blair Murray; 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Rio Dyer; 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Ellis Bevan; 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 James Botham; 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Christ Tshiunza; 3 Gareth Thomas, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Archie Griffin.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Eddie James, 23 Josh Hathaway.

Date – Springboks v Wales: Saturday, November 23
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 17.40 (19.40 SA time; 17.40 GMT)
Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley, Damian Schneider
TMO: Andrew Jackson

Stats and facts:

Springbok record against Wales:
Played 42; Won 34; Lost 7; Drawn 1; Points for: 1 112; Points against; 671; Tries scored: 131; Tries conceded: 55; Highest score: 96-13; Biggest win: 83 points; Win %: 80,9%

Miscellaneous:

• Saturday’s match will be the Springboks’ 101^st match on British and Irish soil since the first tour in 1906 – including matches in the two Rugby World Cups held on the islands. Of those 100 matches, 66 have been won and three drawn while 31 have been lost. The most wins (20) have come against Wales; while the most defeats have been suffered against England (11).
• Eben Etzebeth will extend his Springbok record as the most capped player to 131 caps if he takes the field.
• The Springboks’ fourth try against England in on Saturday was the 50^th of the season – the most the Boks have scored in a non-Rugby World Cup season since 1997 (when 74 tries were scored in 13 tests).
• Should the Springboks win, it will be their 55^th in 78 matches since Rassie Erasmus returned (with Jacques Nienaber) in 2018 for a winning percentage of 70,5% over the past seven seasons (no matches were played in 2020), completing the raising of the team’s historic winning record by more than one whole percentage point from 62,47% to 63,60%.
• Should the Springboks win, it will be their 11^th victory from 13 matches in the year for a winning percentage of 84,6% – repeating the feat of 2023 – and the highest seasonal percentage achieved since 1998 when 11 of 12 matches were won for a percentage of 91,7%.
• A win or a draw for the Springboks would complete the first undefeated northern hemisphere tour since 2013.
• This will be the second time the teams meet in the UK this season after playing an international friendly in their opening match of the season at the Allianz Stadium in June.
• The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 539.
• There are 256 caps in the backline, with 283 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 431 caps.
• The average caps per player in the backline is 36, the forwards 35, while the players on the bench average 53.

According to recent reports, three struggling Orlando Pirates players have attracted interest from local clubs.

TRANSFER INTEREST REPORTS

Anyone who has been watching Orlando Pirates will be aware that Zakhele Lepasa, Katlego Otladisa and Thuso Moleleki are struggling for game time in Buccaneer colours this season.

According to local reports, Lepasa is targeted by Kaizer Chiefs, while Otladisa and Moleleki are being courted by their former clubs, Marumo Gallants and Orbit College, respectively.

TEKO MODISE’S ADVICE FOR PATRICK MASWANGANYI

We can expect Orlando Pirates forward Patrick Maswanganyi to score and create goals for Bafana Bafana soon.

Maswanganyi, affectionately known as “Tito,” delighted his fans with two goals in two matches for Bafana Bafana in the past week. Former Orlando Pirates superstar Teko Modise played a role.

“I have spoken to Tito (Patrick Maswanganyi) personally, and I said he becomes so dangerous whenever he plays in and around the box,” Modise said on SuperSport TV.

“All these other things, they are nice on the eye, but at the end of the day, if you want to be a Bafana Bafana player, a regular Bafana Bafana player, you need to be in and around the box.

“With his creativity and skill, you need to be scoring goals, and I am glad he scored his second goal for Bafana,” Modise concluded.

CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCH FOR ORLANDO PIRATES

In the meantime, Maswanganyi is looking forward to the highest level of club football in Africa. The Sea Robbers are focused on their Group C opener away to Algeria’s CR Belouizdad next Tuesday, 26 November.

Kaizer Chiefs face major dilemma as they prepare for upcoming Betway Premiership clash.

Chiefs could find themselves in a tricky situation as they await a crucial decision on whether their first-choice goalkeeper, Fiacre Ntwari, will be fit for their match against Richards Bay on Wednesday, November 27.

The Rwandan international picked up an injury while playing for his national team against Nigeria, and Chiefs now face the challenge of assessing his readiness before the high-stakes fixture.

Medical assessment in progress

Sources within Kaizer Chiefs have revealed that the club’s medical team and fitness trainers must evaluate Ntwari’s condition to determine his availability for the next match. A source shared, “It’s still very early for the club to say what’s wrong and how long it will take for him to heal from the injury. First of all, the medical team has to ascertain what injury it is, then check how long it will take to heal and rehabilitate. We can’t jump the gun right now. Once they check him and ascertain the injury, then they will know what to do next.”

The uncertainty surrounding Ntwari’s injury puts additional pressure on the Amakhosi. Who must also consider alternative options if he is unavailable for the match. “He has just come back from the national team (of Rwanda), and nothing is certain,” the source confirmed.

Backup goalkeepers ready to step in

While the injury is undeniably concerning for both the player and the team, Chiefs are not entirely without options. Another insider explained that the club has two capable backup goalkeepers who can step in if Ntwari is ruled out. “Of course, the injury is not good for the team and the player. But at least the club has two other goalkeepers who could easily jump in. And do the job if Ntwari is injured and needs time on the sidelines.”

However, this change could affect the team’s defense, especially with Inacio Miguel currently suspended. The source continued, “That means there have to be two changes for the first time in the league this season. But as I said, the team is not that much worried. As every player at the club is ready to step up and do the job for the team.”

Can Chiefs adapt without Ntwari and Miguel?

As Kaizer Chiefs prepare for their next match, the team’s ability to adapt and make use of their squad depth will be essential. Fans will be eagerly watching to see how the club handles the situation. Especially with Bruce Bvuma potentially being called upon to fill the void if Ntwari cannot play.

The next few days will be crucial in determining whether the Amakhosi can field a strong lineup against Richards Bay, despite the setbacks. The club’s resilience and depth will be tested. But Chiefs have proven in the past that they can rise to the occasion.

As the clock ticks down to match day, all eyes are on Kaizer Chiefs to see how they navigate these critical changes.