SuperSport United head coach Gavin Hunt has responded to reports linking out-of-favour Orlando Pirates striker Zakhele Lepasa with a return to Matsatsantsa ahead of the start of the league season.
The Randburg-based outfit has been dealt a harsh blow in their striking department with Bradley Grobler out of action due to a lengthy injury, while Etiosa Ighodaro, on loan from Mamelodi Sundowns, has since been sent out on loan to AmaZulu FC.
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Recent reports have indicated that SuperSport may be tempted to pursue Lepasa, who spent several months on loan with them last season.
The marksman is understood to be unsettled at Pirates, where he has not featured in a single match since the start of the current campaign with the club having played three MTN8 games and two fixtures in the CAF Champions League.
"I read that [interest in Lepasa] yesterday in the media. It was news to me as well, that's the first time I've heard about it. I didn't know anything about it," Hunt told journalists on Tuesday at the Betway Premiership launch.
"We need strikers, we do. We need some strikers. We've got no strikers. We lost Ighodaro, we lost Bradley – they gave us 20 goals last year, so where are we going to get 20 goals? So, we need to get strikers."
Maseko ?? Lepasa
— SuperSport Football ?? (@SSFootball) March 5, 2023
Lepasa gets his first SuperSport United goal ??#DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/Qwd4Q04cSA
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The well-travelled coach added that Matsatsantsa have cast the net as far as abroad in their search but have been limited by the hassle of attaining a work permit.
"Obviously work permits [are a challenge]. There should be a law and there should be something happening where everyone gets a work permit at the same time," Hunt lamented.
"Because now some people get them and some people don't. It can't be like that. We need to [do] like they do in Europe, where everyone gets a work permit at the same time.
"We need to do something. We can't get one locally, so where are we going to get one? We can't buy one locally, so...?"
SuperSport begin their 2024/25 Betway Premiership season with a mouthwatering Tshwane Derby clash against defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns on 17 September.