Lucas Radebe backs Relebohile Mofokeng's potential overseas transfer from Orlando Pirates
However, the move to Israel appears less likely due to the conflict in the Middle East. Radebe, though, said Mofokeng's main aim should be to play overseas as soon as possible.
The winger has been rumoured to have attracted interest from Major Soccer League outfit FC Cincinnati recently, with Israeli sides Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv also in the conversation.
At 20, Mofokeng is one of the hottest prospects in South African football after two stellar seasons for Pirates.
Bafana Bafana and Leeds legend Lucas Radebe believes Orlando Pirates sensation Relebohile Mofokeng should not hesitate if he gets the chance to ply his trade abroad.
Reset restore all settings to the default values Done
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Reset restore all settings to the default values Done
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Radebe Advocates for Relebohile's Early Move to Europe for Development
'I think he's ready (to go to Europe). You don't need five or ten seasons in the PSL to be ready. He's had two great seasons already,' Radebe told iDiski Times.
'That's enough to show his potential. From here, it's all about development – and that's where Europe can play a big role.'
Radebe cited some Kaizer Chiefs legends as examples of players who could have benefited from a move outside SA.
'Players like Siphiwe Tshabalala, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, and even Itumeleng Khune – they all had the quality to play abroad earlier,' Radebe added.
'But staying at one club or in the PSL too long doesn't always help their growth. That's why I believe our top talents must go as young as they can. Relebohile is at that stage now.'
Meanwhile, it's been almost a month since it first emerged that Orlando Pirates player Monnapule Saleng could be making a move to Kaizer Chiefs, and the lack of updates does not bode well.
Saleng is still contracted to Pirates until 2027, but has not featured for the club since December.
The 27-year-old, according to reports, is believed to have been absent from the field due to a salary dispute.
However, since there has been no official word from Pirates, the rumours continue to swirl.
@Michael_Sherman
IOL Sport
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Springbok Women taught chastening lesson despite fightback in big loss to Canada
The Springbok Women were punished for a first-half display littered with mistakes and penalties by Canada, losing 50-20 at a sunny but cool Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon. The second-ranked Canadians punched holes in the South Africans' defence early on, putting the Bok Women on the back foot from the start. That pressure told when Deleaka Menin stretched over the line despite the attentions of Babalwa Latsha after five minutes. Julia Schell added the extra two points. The Springbok Women's pack was solid enough at scrum time, but lineout struggles proved costly. Hooker Micke Gunter struggled to find her jumpers throughout the half. Unfortunately, an alarming error count at the breakdown also cost the South Africans. It also undid much of the good work by the forwards, who worked tirelessly to get go-forward ball. The likes of Latsha, Sizophila Solontsi and Aseza Hele were prominent in this regard. The Bok Women were growing in confidence with 12 minutes played. A powerful SA scrum drove the Canadian pack backwards and they won a penalty in front of the posts. Winger Jakkie Cilliers banged it over to put the home team on the scoreboard. Fancy Bermudez scored Canada's second try after the ball was fed wide to the left from a quick feed off a Canada scrum, the skip pass and wraparound leading to an overlap. Schell missed the conversion, which rebounded off the post. Canada's rush defence was not giving the Bok backline time on the ball, with the South African wings hardly involved in the attacking play after 20 minutes. The usually lethal fullback Nadine Roos and flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg were starved of the ball. This denied the Bok Women an important exit avenue and spark to their attack. The visitors wasted little time in slinging the ball wide, exposing the Bok Women's narrow defence. They also spread their cover defence quickly, leaving little space in the wide channels for the likes of SA speedster Ayanda Malinga to exploit. Scrumhalf Olivia Apps and centre Alexandra Tessier were instrumental in dictating play for Canada. A Laetitia Symonds try for Canada extended their lead to 17-3. With 10 minutes to go until half-time, the South African penalty count was mounting worryingly, especially at the breakdown. Canada's next try was a real sucker punch, with the SA defence caught napping as they stood and watched as loose forward Laetitia Royer canter in to dot down unchallenged. A Flo Symonds five-pointer added to SA's woes. The score was 26-3 at the break.
Daily Maverick
3 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Sloppy Boks win but are given a second-half scare by Italy at Loftus
The Springboks beat Italy 42-24 (halftime 28-3) in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. It's not often that a six-try performance can be labelled as scrappy and mediocre, yet there is no hiding from the fact that the Springboks gave one of their worst displays in years against a gallant Italy. To be more accurate, the second half was one of the worst by the Boks in the Rassie Erasmus era. The first half was more polished with the Boks holding a 28-3 lead at the break. It went south after halftime though, through a combination of Italian grit and fighting spirit and Bok mistakes. Italy 'won' the second half 21-14, which was a fair reflection of how the match unfolded. The second half was shambolic by the world champions as they coughed up the ball, lost lineouts and fell off tackles. Italy deserve some credit for staying in the fight and disrupting the Boks with their abrasive attitude, but even so, this was as bad as the Boks' display in Santiago against Argentina last year. The most positive outcome for the Springboks was that they won and can move on with another victory. But as Erasmus reiterated during the build-up, the Boks don't measure their success by the final score, but rather on the detail of the performance. By that measure, this was a failure for the Springboks because they let a comfortable and commanding position turn into a scrap. The Boks were beaten badly at the breakdown, especially in the second half; the Bomb Squad failed to provide its usual positive impact, and the set piece also wilted the longer the game went on. The sight of the Springbok pack being mauled back 20m by the Italian eight was a sight that will make the rest of the rugby world happy and send some jolts through South African rugby. That is not supposed to happen to a Bok pack. The Boks will never admit it, but it appeared that there was some complacency after the break. They started the second half well when flank Vincent Tshituka thought he had scored a try, only for it to be ruled out for apparent obstruction during the build-up. Ox Nche was deemed to have blocked a tackler getting to fullback Damian Willemse. Let's just say it was a marginal call. That moment seemed to shift the momentum of the game, two minutes into the second half. Instead of a fifth try and being more than 30 points up, Italy were just about still in the game and that made them keep their heads up. The Boks went into their shell for the next 25 minutes as Italy's chests swelled. With each Bok mistake, and there were many, Italy's confidence grew. If there is another positive for the Boks to take away from the Test, it was a reminder that past performances and achievements count for nothing. Every team is improving and Italy, with as many as 10 regulars missing, will pick far more positives from their display than the home team. Flying start The Boks won the match in the first half, scoring four unanswered tries in the stanza with Italy barely having any possession or territory. Being forced to defend for most of the opening 40 minutes was energy-sapping, yet despite conceding those tries the Italian defence was impressive. Had they not been so committed and organised, it could have been much worse. The tries they conceded though, were not down to defensive lapses as much as simply running out of bodies. The Boks' opening try, scored by captain Jesse Kriel, needed a lovely grubber kick from Damian de Allende to finally break the Italian resistance after 10 phases. Kriel appeared to be marginally in front of De Allende but referee Hollie Davidson let it stand and the Boks were underway, 11 minutes into the match. Scrumhalf Morne van den Berg was an excellent, buzzing presence and was rewarded with two tries. His first came via a familiar route. The Boks earned a penalty close to the Italian line and opted to scrum. It was a good call as they shoved the Italians towards their own line. No 8 Jasper Wiese controlled the ball at the base and Van den Berg perfectly picked his moment to pick up and score. Best try The best try of the match came from superb wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, who scythed through the defence from 40m out when running on to a Malcolm Marx pass. It was a set play from a lineout and it worked a treat, but still needed a player of Arendse's class to provide the finishing touches. Arendse later showed the other side of the game with a try-saving tackle on wing Simone Gesi when the Italians were on top. Van den Berg completed the first half, scoring with his second try, this time throwing a good dummy to a ranging Cheslin Kolbe, which opened the space for the halfback to score. The Boks might have thought the job was done at that stage, but Italy had other ideas after the break. Flank Manuel Zuliani crashed over from close range, going through the double tackle of Marx and Wilco Louw to give the visitors the smallest foothold in the game. The Boks managed a rare foray back into Italian territory, and from a multi-phase attack, Vincent Koch scored as he sniped from the side of a ruck. That didn't end the Italian resistance though. Minutes later replacement hooker Pablo Dimcheff scored from the back of that 20m rolling maul, to remind their opponents that they were going nowhere. Lock Niccolò Cannone scored with just more than 10 minutes to go, to narrow the deficit to 11 points and send a brief shiver through the 42,000 at Loftus. But the Boks shut the door with a late Marco van Staden try. DM Scorers: è Pollard (6).
The South African
3 hours ago
- The South African
Signings score: Orlando Pirates 9-6 Kaizer Chiefs
Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates fans often tell you that the first Soweto derby for a new Betway Premiership season starts in the transfer market before a ball is kicked. Don't you agree? The transfer window has been open since 1 July, while the 2025/26 season kicks off on 8 August. The Soweto fierce rivals have so far announced a combined 15 players. Orlando Pirates are enjoying a vast 9-6 lead over Kaizer Chiefs. Here's a quick look at the list of players each club has announced. Orlando Pirates news: Oswin Appollis and Sipho Mbule Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou (left) and Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi (right). Images: Goal The club known as the Buccaneers took an early, dramatic lead last week. Former Mamelodi Sundowns star Sipho Mbule was anticipated to join Amakhosi after his super agent, Mike Makaab, confirmed he had offered the 27-year-old midfield maestro to Kaizer Chiefs. Kaizer Chiefs news: More signings and Yusuf Maart While most Amakhosi followers waited for the deal to be finalised, one of the most dramatic transfer moments we've ever seen rocked social media. Orlando Pirates suddenly announced Mbule as their first signing of the window. 24 hours later, the Buccaneers announced seven more signings to take a 7-0 lead over Kaizer Chiefs. On July 1st, Amakhosi finally gave their fanbase something to dance to. The club known as the Glamour Boys announced three new signings, and the score changed to 8-3. Kaizer Chiefs then suffered an unexpected second crushing blow. Oswin Appollis (23), one of the most coveted wingers in South African football, was announced by Orlando Pirates from Polokwane City. The score switched to 9-3. It was Kaizer Chiefs' turn to respond. The Phefeni Glamour Boys announced Former Orlando Pirates full-backs Thabiso Monyane and Paseka Mako. Meanwhile, the current transfer window is set to close on 22 September. Tshepho Mashiloane, 23, right-back Nkosikhona Ndaba, 22, left-back Sihle Nduli, 29, central midfielder Masindi Nemtajela, 23, defensive midfielder Sipho Mbule, 27, central midfielder Tsepang Moremi, 24, winger Sinoxolo Kwayiba, 25, attacking midfielder Yanela Mbuthuma, 23, striker Oswin Appollis, 23, winger. Nkanyiso Shinga, 25, left-back Flavio Silva, 29, striker Ethan Chislett, 26, attacking midfielder Paseka Mako, 31, left-back Thabiso Monyane, 25, right-back Siphesihle Ndlovu, 28, central midfielder. As far as last season's results on the pitch, the Buccaneers won the MTN8 and finished 12 points behind the league champions, Mamelodi Sundowns. The position booked Orlando Pirates a spot in next season's CAF Champions League. Despite finishing in ninth place, Kaizer Chiefs ended their decade-long trophy drought after beating Orlando Pirates 2-1 in the Nedbank Cup. The championship sealed Amakhosi's return to the CAF Confederation Cup next season. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
