Orlando Pirates have commented on the future of Zakhele Lepasa as the club appears to advance preparations for next season.
Following his successful loan stint with TS Galaxy, which ended with the NFD outfit winning the Nedbank Cup after beating Kaizer Chiefs in the final as well as his call-up to Bafana Bafana’s COSAFA Cup squad, Lepasa is expected to return to the Buccaneers to compete for a place in coach Milutin Sredojevic’s team for next season.
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“Lepasa is due to return from his loan spell at TS Galaxy where he is expected to be part of the Buccaneers pre-season setup,” Pirates confirmed on the club’s official website.
Lepasa, 22, has described the last few months for him as ‘crazy’ as he progressed in his career.
“The past five months have been crazy, but it’s also part of a process that has brought me to this point. I have moved from Johannesburg to the Western Cape and back to Joburg chasing my football dream, and it’s in this short time that I sit here with a national call-up and a winner’s medal from the Nedbank Cup. It’s crazy!” he told Bucs’ website.
The Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament added, “The move to Galaxy was an exciting prospect for me because they have a small squad of largely young players. I knew it was going to be tough to join them though, especially as a new player in the middle of the season but they welcomed me and made it easy for me to settle down.”
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“I also came in knowing that the most important thing was to work hard and show the coaches that they didn’t make a mistake in bringing me on board. I made sure that I repaid their faith in me by contributing whenever I got the chance and I’m grateful that there is a good story to tell for all of us at the end of the season.”
Lepasa may have to look at recently crowned PSL’s Footballer of the Season Thembinkosi Lorch, who had different loan spells with Cape Town All Stars and Chippa United before he finally got an opportunity to play at Pirates, for inspiration.
“I am someone who doesn’t believe in mistakes. I think everything that happens to us, does so for a reason. The key is whether someone chooses to ignore what has happened or to learn from it. For me, it’s the latter.”
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“My time at Stellenbosch, albeit limited was not a waste. I thank the team for giving me an opportunity but at the end of the day it just didn’t work out. This is football. The two loan moves have opened up my eyes as to what to expect and as a student of the game I always look to better myself,” Lepasa told the club’s website.
