The mileage on Kaizer Chiefs' new central defence might be still low, but the senior figure of the pairing – Inacio Miguel – has spoken out about his partnership with Rushwin Dortley.
Miguel and Dortley were both signed during the off-season from Petro de Luanda and Cape Town Spurs, respectively, and immediately earned the trust of Nasreddine Nabi in a new backline, which also has Bradley Cross at left-back and Fiacre Ntwari in goals.
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The Angolan has taken the lead in commanding and has been impressed of his younger teammate, who has broken into the Bafana Bafana squad.
"Listen, I'm very happy to have Dortley on my side because he is a young, talented boy," says Miguel.
"He has fantastic qualities, and I think one of the most important things in Dortley is the fact that he listens.
"He is a humble boy, he wants to learn, he wants to improve.
"I think he will go far if he keeps learning and being humble while performing at the high level.
"Even in the Bafana (team), he made a great debut, and I believe in him a lot and I try to push him that he has to believe in himself at first," adds the lanky player.
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Both Miguel and Dortley have played every minute so far, pushing last season's regulars Given Msimango and Thatayaone Ditlhokwe to the bench and the stands.
With Njabulo Ngcobo having left, Zitha Kwinika has suffered a similar fate of falling away, while Edmilson Dove has injury issues to overcome before putting himself in contention to play again.