Pitso Mosimane’s possible move to Kaizer Chiefs may depend on Saudi relegation battle

Pitso Mosimane has a relegation battle in Saudi Arabia on his hand before he can make a decision on his future. Photo: Karim Jaafar/AFP

Pitso Mosimane has a relegation battle in Saudi Arabia on his hand before he can make a decision on his future. Photo: Karim Jaafar/AFP

Published May 23, 2024

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Kaizer Chiefs fans’ wish to see Pitso Mosimane at Naturena could depend on what transpires in the last two rounds of matches in the Saudi Pro League.

Mosimane’s Abha are currently involved in a relegation fight, starting with Thursday night’s match against Al-Khaleej before taking on bottom-club and the already relegated Al Hazem next Monday evening.

Abha need to win both matches and hope their rivals above them drop points.

Mosimane’s side, who are second from bottom, are level on points with 16th-placed Al Akhdoud in the relegation zone, and two points behind 15th-placed Al-Tai and 14th-placed Al-Riyadh, who are currently safe. However, Abha’s goal-difference is also a bit of a disaster, as they are over 20 goals worse off than their rivals.

Mosimane’s contract with Abha runs out at the end of June after he was brought in to do a hospital job and save them from the drop. It’s unlikely that his contract will be extended if the Abha do get relegated from the top division.

This could potentially open the door for a return to South Africa and the DStv Premiership giants with Kaizer Chiefs.

Amakhosi are looking for a new coach after another trophyless season and Mosimane’s name has popped up as a possible candidate.

It’s been almost 10 years since the Amakhosi faithful had something to celebrate when a Stuart Baxter-led Chiefs lifted the Premiership trophy after a remarkable 2014/15 campaign.

Chiefs recently announced that current interim coach Cavin Johnson will move back to the development side of the football club after replacing Molefi Ntseki after just 13 games into the season.

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However, the stars need to align for Chiefs to get Mosimane, especially as he and his coaching staff would come with a lot of demands such as hefty salaries and a long transfer list.

One of the names on that list could be Percy Tau, the Bafana Bafana attacker who played for Mosimane at Mamelodi Sundowns before following “Jingles” to Al Ahly in Egypt where he is currently plying his trade.

But, all this speculation could come to nothing if Mosimane manages to guide Abha to safety in the Saudi Pro League over the next week and end up signing a new contract.

@JohnGoliath82

IOL Sport