ICYMI: SA teen star catches eye of Manchester United – report

Emile Witbooi is just 15-years-old, and so expectations must certainly be tempered, but what a game-changer it would be if Manchester United truly look to integrate him into their youth system in the future.

Witbooi, who is the son of Mamelodi Sundowns star Bradley Ralani, has actually recently been also linked with possible interest from Masandawana, with the Brazilians having just wrapped up another league title.

Witbooi, who is a talented playmaker, recently returned from Poland where he was part of the SA U16 team that took part in the UEFA development tournament.

VIDEO: BENNI MCCARTHY, AKA TRIBUTE MUSIC VIDEO YOU HAVE TO WATCH

According to SABC Sport, the School of Excellence’s teen sensation has apparently even caught the eye of Manchester United.

“When the UEFA observers (at the development tournament) mentioned four players that stood out there’s no secret about it,” South African national U16 team coach Zipho Dlangalala was quoted as saying. “It was Witbooi, Kabelo Sibande, who plays for Clapham now, Lazola Maku who’s at Ubuntu. These are the players that showed up in that event and also Bohloko Neo, who’s at Kaizer Chiefs.”

ALSO READ | ‘Tower’ to fall at Chiefs: 11-year Amakhosi stint heading to an end

Notably, SABC Sport has reportedly learnt that United is actually one of the teams that enquired about Witbooi just a few weeks after that UEFA development tournament in Poland. 

“He (Witbooi), like most South African kids that are talented, is very skillful and creative,” Dlangalala commented. “He’s the kind of player that I would wish as a country, he and many other players like him and they are many, we need to give them special treatment.

“We need to accept that some players are very special and different. Players like your Neymar, Messi, Ronaldinho will not be where they are if they were not given special treatment,” he added.

FULL LIST: ALL THE PLAYERS LINKED TO KAIZER CHIEFS

Check out some of the recent reaction around Witbooi

That big Luxembourg number 8 was struggling to deal with Emile Witbooi…which is testament to what Coach Zipho Dlangalala said about size not being a factor. pic.twitter.com/J4c5mk3bhd

— Football Stage (@Football__Stage) April 5, 2023

SA U16 Coach Zipho Dlangalala says Emile Witbooi from the SAFA-Transnet School of Excellence was rated very highly by the UEFA Technical Assessors

Full Interview: https://t.co/B89XETjc3o pic.twitter.com/CGh9fITS8X

— Football Stage (@Football__Stage) April 3, 2023

I know our SA U16 team didn’t win any games in Poland but from what I have seen, the performances were encouraging…just look at this goal by Emile Witbooi from the SAFA-Transnet School of Excellence 👌🏿 pic.twitter.com/VhuKq45PuZ

— Football Stage (@Football__Stage) April 4, 2023

ALSO READ | CHIEFS CAN POUNCE ON SUPERSPORT ‘FREE AGENT’