Ex-South African forward Junior Khanye believes that Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali is overhyped and not good enough to play for Kaizer Chiefs, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nwabali's future has been in the balance in recent months following his decent performances for Chippa United and Nigeria.
Over the last two years, there have been speculations that the former Enyimba shot-stopper could leave the Chilli Boys for another club in South Africa abroad, but nothing concrete has emerged yet.
South African giants Kaizer Chiefs has been touted as a potential destination for Nwabali. But Khanye, who played for the club in the 2000s believes signing Nwabali would be a bad decision.
The former South Africa international sees Nwabali as an error-prone goalie whose deficiencies are covered by his defenders.
“I think the fact that he (Nwabali) is a Nigerian international as first-choice goalkeeper can be blinding because Nigeria have a superior team that covers him sometimes,” Khanye said, per iDiskiTimes.
“But this guy, when I watch and observe him, he gives away a lot of goals, especially high balls. I mean, sometimes he’ll get a ball and then spill it. He makes high school mistakes.
“They need to go and look for a proper keeper. I am not sure if the PSL has a top keeper available…I love (Ricardo) Gross, maybe he can go to Chiefs.
“I have been watching Nwabali and I don’t think he is a good fit for Chiefs. I think someone is selling this guy, he can’t handle the ball, instead he fists the ball away. He lacks the basics.”
Is Stanley Nwabali really a top goalkeeper?
Stanley Nwabali's popularity is not by chance. The 28-year-old has actually merited all the plaudits he has received over the past two years.
He was not really popular until last year, when former Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro invited him to the team.
His introduction brought some stability to the Super goalkeeper position after several costly blunders from Maduka Okoye and Francis Uzoho.
Although he plays for Chippa United, who are a midtable club, Nwabali has been competing with other top goalkeepers like Ronwen Williams in the South African Premier League. In fact, he could have won the Golden Glove Award at the last AFCON if he had kept a clean sheet in the final.
Nwabali might not be as wonderful as Gianluigi Donnarumma, David Raya, or Alison Becker, but he is surely one of the best on the African continent.
