Itumeleng Khune told to stay at Kaizer Chiefs

Don’t do it Khune. This is basically the message from a marketing specialist. Will the Kaizer Chiefs legendary goalkeeper take the advice?

ITUMELENG KHUNE TO LEAVE KAIZER CHIEFS?

It’s been a long story.

To cut it short, Amakhosi first announced last season that Khune was signing his final contract with the club as a player. After just five appearances last season, Kaizer Chiefs honoured the 37-year-old for 25 years of service. During the same afternoon, Khune was quick to clarify that he is not retiring despite the club’s previous statement he was not going to be offered another deal.

Rumours soon followed that Kaizer Chiefs were planning to appoint Khune as a goalkeeper coach. However, the incoming new coach Nasreddine Nabi will be arriving with his own goalkeeper coach.

URGENT ADVICE TO STAY

With the club yet to make any announcement on Khune’s future, experienced brand and marketing expert Sgwili Gumede has urged Khune to stay at Amakhosi.

“He’s highly popular and very well-liked by the fans,’ Gumede told SABC Sport’s Mazola Molefe.

“Obviously, in the last year, he had one or two issues of this very nature, where they could part, but generally he’s still highly regarded,” said Gumede. “If I was advising him, if what we know publicly is really what’s happening, I would be thinking, ‘Khune, just take an opportunity to work with the club, develop your future leadership career. Whether as part of the technical team or even in the background, where you could potentially be a future sporting director, or a future marketing manager, or whatever the case may be.'”

“But he should start building his [post-playing] career with a giant like [Kaizer] Chiefs, and that would stand him in good stead.

“It’s always difficult to make comments on these things because we just don’t have enough facts to know exactly what his options are, what’s on the table, and what may or may not be happening in terms of other clubs’ offers,” Gumede continued.

“Or maybe Chiefs are also saying to him, you don’t have a playing contract here anymore, but we think that he could join the technical team, as assistant goalkeeper coach or the development as one of the coaches.

“But the reality is that he would be much better off staying at [Kaizer] Chiefs and building his career off the field than anywhere else,” he concluded.

What is your advice to Khune? Let us know in the comments section below.