Pirates striker fuels exit rumours with cryptic tweet

Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa has sent Buccaneers fans on social media into a frenzy, after sending out a tweet that suggested he could be on his way out of the club ahead of next season.

READ MORE: Five more players that could join Pirates

“NORMALISE WALKING AWAY,” tweeted Mabasa on Saturday, which could have meant literally anything, but immediately created speculation about whether he would be walking away from Pirates.

Mabasa was signed by Pirates at the start of the 2019/20 season, and made an immediate impact, netting seven league goals before the end of November, but he failed to add to that tally, not scoring at all since Josef Zinnbauer took charge in December.

Though Mabasa did make six appearances for Pirates inside the bubble, he didn’t find the net, and overall it was Gabadinho Mhango who stole the show up front for the Buccaneers under Zinnbauer, sharing the Golden Boot with Highlands Park’s Peter Shalulile, as both players ended up with 16 league goals at the end of the season.

Pirates assistant coach Fadlu Davids did tell the Daily Sun in March about why Mabasa was not getting as much game time has he had in the first few months of the season.

“The competition is really high, and I think that has been our strength, with ‘Gaba’ knowing that if he drops his guard then another striker will come in and take his place,” said Davids.

“We know Tshegofatso’s quality and we know he can score goals, but so can Shonga and Lepasa, which is what makes the competition so high – not only for Mabasa but all players … Knowing that if one is out then the next one can come in and do a similar job, if not threaten to take over his position – that is the most important thing in terms of the squad.”

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