SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt has paid tribute to late Kaizer Chiefs defender Luke Fleurs.
Having represented South Africa at junior national team level, Fleurs was tragically shot in a hijacking in Honeydew, Johannesburg last Tuesday.
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Hunt knows Fleurs well since he had represented SuperSport before moving to Chiefs and he had also played for the South African Olympic team in Tokyo 2020.
"Luke (Fleurs), yes, I know Luke. What happened is just tragic, we got news of it last Tuesday when it happened. You know, a lot has been said and I don't want to really go there," Hunt told journalists.
"He still had a big career, you know the boy in his position, I always say that centre-backs only mature at 30 thereafter. You just look at a lot of the best centre-backs in the world.
"They are all over 30. So, he still had a long way to go and still had a (chance for a) good career especially at Chiefs. So, yes, it's just tragic," Hunt added.
After joining Amakhosi in October last year, Fleurs was yet to play an official match for his new team, but on Thursday during his memorial service, the club announced the retirement of his number 26 jersey.
Fleurs was expected to break into the Chiefs team this month, and many coaches have felt he is a player who had a good chance of also becoming a Bafana Bafana international in future.
Chiefs sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jnr had praised Fleurs in a recent interview, saying that he was one of the best players with the ball at his feet.
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