Evaluating Kaizer Chiefs New Signings

After announcing Molefi Ntseki as their new coach last Wednesday, Kaizer Chiefs went a step further and announced some new signings this week. Six players coming in at an average age of 28 does not scream long-term renovation but could point towards an immediate and urgent effort to get back to the top of the food chain. We take a look at some of the numbers behind Kaizer Chiefs’ new signings.

Mduduzi Mdantsane

Mduduzi Mdantsane was a favourite at Cape Town City, making over 100 appearances for the club (less than 10 players have done so for the club). He scored 21 times for the Citizens, departing as their all-time top scorer since they joined the PSL in 2016. Yet, his last season was the least productive in terms of goals for the 28-year-old, with just two goals. Ironically, his last goal came against Chiefs in the final game of the season.

Last season, Mdantsane started and completed just one game, so we’ve chosen a visual from a few seasons ago to analyse him. The radar above shows Mdantsane at his peak, i.e. the 2020/21 season when he contributed to 14 goals towards City’s cause. Should he replicate this output for Chiefs, he will add a creative element that will bring a different edge to the teams’ attack.

Ranga Chivaviro

Among PSL players, only Peter Shalulile (23) scored more goals than Ranga Chivaviro across all competitions last season (17). Caleb Bimenyimana’s struggles would have been top of mind for Chiefs management when reading Chivaviro’s file. At 3.92 shots per 90 minutes, Ranga Chivaviro was the league leader for efforts at goal in the PSL last season, with his 55% shot accuracy placing him in the Top 5 across the division. 

The above shot map excludes two games, including the Chippa United game in which he scored a hat-trick. But it is an accurate representation of his shot activity. He’s shown an incredible ability to get into good spots and take shots in the centre of the penalty area. Should the likes of Keagan Dolly continue providing good passes, that combination could help elevate Chiefs’ attacking threat.

Pule Mmodi

Another attacking player announced by Chiefs was the former Giolden Arrows player, Pule Mmodi. He featured as left & right attacking midfield, and also as left winger last season, and could bring much-needed versatility to the Chiefs frontline. His nine-goal involvements last season were second only to Knox Mutizwa at Arrows.

His radar shows near-elite output for short passes, forward passes and passes into the box. He is also in the Top 20 for dribbles per 90, which is decent but rises to Top 3 for total dribbles, which is exceptional. Between his passing and dribbling abilities, he could be one of the most impactful in terms of disrupting deep defensive blocks that Chiefs come against.

Thatayaone Ditlhokwe & Given Msimano

The youngest of the players announced by Chiefs is now-former SuperSport United defender Thatayaone Ditlhokwe. The Botswana international saw more minutes than any other SuperSport player in the league last season and will take some replacing at the club. Likewise, Given Msimango was a regular at TS Galaxy and also saw the most minutes in the league for his team. In fact, he was one of only two only players to play every minute of every league game this past season, along with Daniel Cardoso.

The fact that one is a left-sided centre-back and the other is a right-sided centre-back suggests Chiefs may have gone all out to sign a new first-choice defensive pairing. The radar highlights some of the differences between the two players. Msimango is a defender likely to be involved more in the buildup, ranking very highly among defenders for forward passes, with an elite range for long passes. Ditlhokwe on the other hand ranked higher for crosses and successful defensive actions. They have both been part of the most consistent centre-backs, and it will be interesting to see how they complement each other.