Kaizer Chiefs star Njabulo Blom was restored to the Chiefs starting XI at the weekend despite being embroiled in a contractual dispute with the club
Kaizer Chiefs star Njabulo Blom was restored to the Chiefs starting XI at the weekend despite being embroiled in a contractual dispute with the club.
Blom was restored to the starting XI for the first time since Chiefs 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Sundowns. He was deployed in the heart of midfield here, rather than at right full-back.
Blom’s agent recently explained that both sides of the negotiation table had hit a road block over a contract extension. Blom was dropped from matchday squads around that time, but now he’s back in the fold.
“There is no doubt, Njabulo is a talented player. He is a work horse in the midfield,” Zwane told reporters.
“When he is ready, we will always give him the opportunity but like I said there is competition for places. We had Nange doing well, we had Yusuf doing very well, we had Sithebe doing well as well.”
KAIZER CHIEFS BOSS ZWANE EXPLAINS MIDFIELD ROLE FOR BLOM
Zwane said that he and his side expected a midfield battle against SuperSport and opted for Blom in the deeper-lying role because of his work ethic.
“But for this game we thought we needed someone like Njabulo, so in another game he might sit on the bench if we need a more offensive players.
“Today, we knew it was going to be a midfield battle and we needed to win, we needed stability, win the battle and be able to play as well, to come out of tight situations.
“I think he did extremely well and not only him, Yusuf and Sithebe as well. You could see it was the end of the game, Sithebe ran out of gas and had to be substituted.
“So there is competition for places, we give every individual that deserves to play [a chance], because we play the way we train. I’m happy for him as well for the fact that he performed very well today.”
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