The situation that has left Christian Saile Basomboli's future at Kaizer Chiefs hanging has left a retired fellow Congolese encouraging him to justify his presence at the club.
Basomboli has been at Chiefs since the beginning of 2023, but for all the minutes and appearances that he has had, he has delivered little in terms of goals.
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Last season, it was four goals in 34 games, while he scored thrice in 16 appearances during the second half of the 2022/23 campaign after joining from Nchanga Rangers.
Basomboli is part of the five foreigners that Chiefs have along with Fiacre Ntwari (Rwanda), Thatayaone Ditlhokwe (Botswana), Edmilson Dove (Mozambique) and Edson Castillo (Venezuela).
Considerations to bring in a foreign striker will mean one of the five will not be registered, forcing either a loan or permanent move before the window closes just after the start of the league season in September.
There have been whispers suggesting that the Congolese hasn't convinced new coach Nasreddine Nabi.
"Chiefs is going through a bad patch, and it didn't help the players, especially a striker like Saile," says fellow Congolese and former Manning Rangers captain Liswa Nduti.
"I don't think the boy has done bad, but as a foreign player, he needs to do a lot more.
"I'm not sure what the new coach expects from him, but my wish is for him to stay and score goals.
"If the coach feels he needs something that he doesn't get out of Saile, then it is understandable.
"The coach's system is what informs whether a player is preferred or not.
"Saile has been at Chiefs for 18 months and in that period has played under how many coaches?
"It has been Arthur Zwane, Molefi Ntseki, Cavin Johnson and Nabi.
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"He has been affected by the change of coaches at Chiefs just like all other players.
"I think that has affected him a bit, but all the same, he needs to deliver whenever he gets the chance," says Nduti.