Itumeleng Khune was relegated to the bench at Kaizer Chiefs when the side lost for the first time in their Absa Premiership campaign this season, against SuperSport United on Wednesday night.
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The experienced goalkeeper watched from the bench, as Brilliant Khuzwayo conceded two goals from Jeremy Brockie and Dove Wome respectively in that game.
Chiefs lost 2-0 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium. Prior to last night, Khune had been in goals for the Amakhosi in their 2-1 win against Township Rollers of Botswana in the CAF Champions League last weekend.
During the game against Rollers, Khune returned to first team action for Chiefs without the captain’s armband, as Tefu Mashamaite led the side on the day.
Following the events of last Saturday, the 27-year-old was dropped from Stuart Baxter’s team for their high-profile league game against SuperSport last night.
Khune made way for Khuzwayo, who recently returned from the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea with Bafana Bafana, as Baxter hoped to extend Chiefs’ lead at the top of the PSL log.
'Itu' has been one of the most-talked about players in local football in recent months, with his contract situation with Chiefs the favourite subject for almost everyone.
The Ventersdorp-born player has still not agreed to a long-term contract at the club.
Khune’s current contract with Chiefs is set to expire in June. The rumours of him on his way out of the club continues to grow, as the 2014/15 season is slowly nearing its final stages.
Mashamaite retained the captain’s armband against SuperSport. According to information on the Siya crew’s desk, the chances of Khune moving to Mamelodi Sundowns are diminishing by the day.
As things stand, there is possibility of Khune making a switch to Europe instead of a local move, if he doesn’t commit to a new deal at Chiefs.
In the meantime, Khune will have to try and regain the number jersey from Khuzwayo, if he has to get regular game time in the upcoming weeks.
