Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has weighed in on the surprise return of Njabulo Blom to Kaizer Chiefs on loan from MLS outfit St. Louis City.
Chiefs made the shock announcement on Tuesday afternoon after head coach Nasreddine Nabi had let slip at the Betway Premiership launch just hours earlier that the 24-year-old midfielder would be returning to the club.
READ | 'But he is only South African' | Broos chimes in on Williams' big nomination
The move comes on the back of an underwhelming spell for Blom that has seen him start just for of the 17 matches he has featured and reportedly fell out favour under new coach John Hackworth.
Blom also lost his place in the Bafana squad after a breakdown in communication with Broos and will undoubtedly be aiming to rebuild the bridge during his time in South Africa.
Unsurprisingly, Blom is not part of the Bafana Bafana squad called for two 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Uganda and South Sudan.
However, speaking to the media ahead of the Uganda match, Broos said he was hopeful that Blom could return to his best at Chiefs and that the door at Bafana would remain open.
"I hope that Njabulo will come back to the level that he was when he left South Africa. I've said it many times, it's good to go abroad, but you have to play," Broos said.
"In the beginning, he played, then not and then he played again. We called him, I think, more than a year ago. After that, he did not play again.
"So Let's hope with the transfer to Chiefs that he will play and that he will play good and then okay, Players who are playing good are always a candidate for Bafana Bafana,"
ALSO READ | REVEALED: No room for Pirates hitman at Bafana
Blom will be up against Yusuf Maart, Edson Castillo, Samkelo Zwane and Sibongiseni Mthethwa in the battle for a starting spot.
Chiefs will kick off their 2024/25 Premiership season with a clash against Marumo Gallants on 14 September at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein.