Stuart Baxter favourite to replace Gavin Hunt at Kaizer Chiefs

Former Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter is set to replace Gavin Hunt as the head coach of Kaizer Chiefs, according to sources at Amakhosi.

ALSO READ: Kaizer Chiefs give head coach Gavin Hunt the boot

Chiefs announced Hunt’s sacking on Friday after eight months of charge following a poor run in the 2020/21 PSL campaign.

Hunt’s axing comes days after Chiefs lost 2-1 bottom-placed Black Leopards. The loss was Chiefs’ 10th of the season, leaving the team languishing in 11th position in the DStv Premiership standings.

“Kaizer Chiefs have terminated coach Gavin Hunt’s contract with immediate effect,” read the Chiefs statement on Friday.

Now, according to sources at Chiefs, talks between Baxter and Chiefs are at an advanced stage and the club could make an announcement about Baxter’s return in the coming days.

“Yes, it’s true that Chiefs and Baxter are talking, in fact they have been talking for some time as things looked like they were not going well for Gavin. The management realised that Hunt is not best suited for Chiefs hence they decided to terminate his contract,” said a source.

“Baxter knows the club culture and he brought a lot of success in his three year stay at the club. Chiefs have not been winning trophies since Baxter left and that is not good for a big club like Chiefs. Baxter will bring success at Chiefs, there’s no doubt about that.”

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Baxter, who left Chiefs in 2015, is currently clubless having parted ways with India’s Odisha in February this year after using an offensive analogy about rape over a refereeing decision.

“You need decisions to go your way and they didn’t,” said Baxter in an interview with Star Sports television. “I don’t know when we’re going to get a penalty. I think one of my players would have to rape someone or get raped himself if he was going to get a penalty.”

Efforts to get a comment from Baxter’s agent Steve Kapeluschnick and Chiefs through their communications manager Vina Maphosa proved fruitless as Kapeluschnick’s phone was on voicemail while Maphosa’s rang unanswered.