Will Chiefs’ new attacking recruits really improve the side?

Kaizer Chiefs are yet to make any official announcements on January signings, but reports suggest they have already reinforced their attack with two new signings.

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Centre-forward Tashreeq Morris and winger Glody Lilepo look set to do the gold and black of Amakhosi before too long.

Chiefs out for offensive reinforcements

Chiefs sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jnr has made no secret of his side’s desire for reinforcement in attack. Amakhosi have scored 17 times in 14 Betway Premiership games so far, but they have also missed a glut of opportunities.

So one would think what Chiefs are looking for, among other characteristics is players who will give them greater efficiency in front of goal. Well, the statistics produced by Morris and Lilepo do not exactly glow in the dark.

According to the website transfermarkt.co.za, Morris has 47 goal contributions (33 goals, 14 assists) in 205 appearances in all Premier Soccer League competitions.

That is only about a goal every six games, and a goal contribution every four games. The 30 year-old Morris can do a job for the players around him, using his physical presence to hold the ball up and create space for others. He is also useful in the air, but by no means is he prolific.

Morris joined SuperSport United on a free transfer this season after being released by Sekhukhune United. He was brought in after Bradley Grobler picked up a bad injury but now that Grobler is back, it seems SuperSport are happy to do a swap deal involving Christian Saile going the other way.

Morris scored twice in ten appearances in all competitions for SuperSport, but then that is pretty much up with his average ratio. Will he really be an improvement on Ashley Du Preez and Ranga Chivaviro?

Lilepo impresses – in patches

Moving to Lilepo, the 27 year-old winger has 15 goals and five assists in 64 appearances in club football, again according to transfermarkt.co.za, though the stats for the Congolese forward are not complete. (the website does not carry stats for the DR Congo, Swazi or Sudanese domestic competitions).

Lilepo impressed for Sudanese side Al Hilal in the 2022/23 Caf Champions League, scoring five goals in ten matches. That’s an impressive ratio of goals, as is the four goals in five matches he scored for Valenciennes in this season’s French Cup.

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Yet the four teams Lilepo scored against are all from leagues below that of Valenciennes, who themselves play in the third tier of French football.

In Ligue 2, from which Valenciennes were relegated last season, Lilepo scored just two goals in 27 league matches. And this season, he has no goals from nine Championnat National matches, and one assist.

Stats can lie of course, and perhaps Lilepo and Morris will add a decisiveness that Chiefs’ attack badly needs.

One also has to respect the fact that January can be a difficult month to bring in transfers. For now, however, these two signings seem decidedly underwhelming.