Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Njabulo Blom still has his future in the air. Image: @kaizerchiefs / Twitter.
Chiefs won’t lose Blom to SuperSport, but will he stay at Naturena?
Reports have suggested Chiefs youngster Njabulo Blom is heading closer to an exit from the club, but a move to SuperSport has been ruled out.
Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Njabulo Blom still has his future in the air. Image: @kaizerchiefs / Twitter.
Although there have been some apparent issues between Njabulo Blom’s representatives and the Chiefs management, which has led to talk that he could end up leaving Naturena, it remains to be seen whether he could still secure a new and improved contract extension at Amakhosi.
According to a recent issue of Soccer Laduma, Blom had actually been offered to SuperSport United “in unofficial discussions… potentially as a free agent at the end of the season given that Amakhosi are unlikely to sell him”.
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However, SuperSport CEO Stan Matthews ruled this move out when talking to SABC Sport.
“Blom is a very good player, someone our coach [Gavin Hunt] knows well and respects highly. But he is a Chiefs player and a player on a wage bracket that, for us, isn’t in our range. It’s a non-starter,” the Matsatsantsa boss explained. Njabulo Blom is not an option to play for SuperSport United at all – there’s nothing more to discuss about it…
“He’s going to be a player that the big three are going to fight over, and we can’t go into that war – I can’t go into a gunfight with a pocket knife. We have a different model of recruiting and identifying players.”
This past weekend, a further report appeared in the Sunday Times newspaper, which highlighted comments from Blom’s agent Rob Moore, who apparently accused Chiefs of offering “peanuts” for the 22-year-old as contract extensions hit a stumbling block.
A source with details of the developments told the Sunday Times that the various parties remain at odds.
“I can confirm that Blom’s contract has not been renewed. The problem is around the head coach and the sporting director (Kaizer Motaung Jr). There was an element of arrogance on their part in handling the matter,” said the insider.
“As we speak today (Friday) the likelihood of that boy signing is two out of 10. Those chances are very slim. It is not completely closed but maybe this thing needs Kaizer Senior to have coffee with Rob and see if something positive can be reached.”
Blom’s contract expires on June 30 next year, and he has been linked to SuperSport United or Mamelodi Sundowns. Any possible new clubs will know they could enter into a pre-contract with the youngster from January.
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There has been ongoing uncertainty over Blom’s future at Chiefs
Recently, a report in Phakaaathi also suggests that there are signs indicating that Blom is being affected “emotionally” by some of the uncertainty around his future.
“When he is here he usually raves about how he is getting game-time and we joke about his performances but this time he was not interested,” a friend of Blom reportedly told the publication.
“He was fine when he got here but as soon as we started talking football, he changed and you could see that something was bothering him. And when I asked if it was because of the contract situation, he said he did not want to talk about it and made excuses so he could leave,” said the source.
Of course, a lot can still change between now and January, with Zwane recently making his view on the matter quite clear.
“As a coach I will always want to see Njabulo [Blom] playing football and succeeding in playing football because he’s very talented,” Zwane said.
“Unfortunately, these things do happen with people who represent them so I will leave the club to deal with it. I’m not that much worried; obviously, we want to see him on the field. He’s got the qualities; we know Njabulo since he was 15 years old, actually 14 years old when he came to Kaizer Chiefs. He’s doing well. Obviously as much as we looking for perfection, there will always be mistakes, and we can work on those mistakes.”
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