REVEALED | Why Itumeleng Khune is choosing not to fight back against Kaizer Chiefs

Kaizer Chiefs seem to have already made up their minds, when it comes to the future of Itumeleng Khune. 

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Khune has been a one-club man since being promoted to the Chiefs first team as far back as 2004.

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Over the years, Khune has been a stalwart for Chiefs, being their number-one goalkeeper for well over a decade. In recent years, however, the 36-year-old has been plagued by injuries and lack of form, which have seen him dropped. With the club failing to find a regular goalkeeper to take over, they have often called on him repeatedly. 

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He recently returned with a man of the match performance for the Carling All Stars XI. The country got to see yet another glimpse of what he is still capable of in front of the sticks. With Chiefs making a statement that Khune will retire, he came out to say he isn’t ready to do so. Therefore, he might have to find another club next season.

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Even with that being said, it was expected that Khune would return from his suspension last month. However, Chiefs team manager Bobby Motaung revealed the veteran keeper was still serving his suspension. In recent times, he has even been linked with a move to Sekhukhune United, as a renewal of his contract looks unlikely.

Khune’s love for Chiefs stopping him from going public

With this publication reporting that Khune may have played his last game for Chiefs, it has been revealed why he has been quiet. 

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“Khune feels that he could have been protected more by the club instead of them going public about his suspension. The funny thing is that he didn’t arrive at training drunk. The story was obviously leaked to the media to tarnish his image. Players had a day off and most of the guys drank. It was a day before returning to training. It’s obvious that he was targeted the following morning, knowing very well that he just smelled of alcohol from the previous day. Why didn’t other players get the same treatment? It doesn’t make sense for him to throw away his career like that after being at the club for over 20 years. The unfortunate thing is that he will never clear his name or speak negatively about Chiefs in public because he loves the club.” Said a source to The Citizen.

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It does look like Chiefs are planning for life without Khune, if one follows the patterns. Firstly, they had already announced this would be his last season. That seemed to be against his will, however, as he has come out in numerous interviews saying he feels he can keep playing. Amakhosi are also rumoured to have offered Bruce Bvuma a two-year contract extension while pursuing Stanley Nwabili of Chippa United.