The Siya crew has established that George Maluleka is a top priority for Mamelodi Sundowns for next season, a story covered extensively in this week's issue 1111 of Soccer Laduma.
But what do the statistics say? Is 'Mido' better in comparison to what coach Pitso Mosimane already has at his disposal?
Here are his numbers when compared to that of Oupa Manyisa, Andile Jali, Tiyani Mabunda and captain Hlompho Kekana in the Absa Premiership this season:
- Maluleka's 13 shot assists are the joint third most at Kaizer Chiefs in his nine league games.
- Jali (seven matches) has provided eight shot assists.
- Hlompho Kekana has provided 12 in 17 league games, while Manyisa and Mabunda have two shot assists each.
- Jali has picked out six different players from shots, but Kekana has set up eight players. Maluleka has set up six players, and the majority are falling to strikers – Bernard Parker and Khama Billiat (four each).
- He also possesses the highest shot accuracy total (38%) for Chiefs players who have taken ten or more shots. Kekana's 35% shot accuracy comes from a total of 40 shots taken – the most among Sundowns players. Jali, Mabunda and Manyisa have not taken more than six shots.
- Kekana's passes, 35.9 % of them go forward. That's the highest number among Downs midfielders. Maluleka enjoys a better record, with 38.7% of passes being played forward. Only 10.9% of his passes went backwards.
- He averages 51.9 % successful passes per 90 minutes – leading all Chiefs' midfielders. Only Jali tops that success rate (58.8 per game), while every other Sundowns player averages less than 50 successful passes per 90 minutes in the league this season. Kekana averages just 37.3.
Read: SuperSport's 'Highest Paid Player' Training With MDC Team
Verdict: 'Mido' is resurgent under Ernst Middendorp, and – by the numbers, has something to offer Downs. If he moves to Chloorkop he could very well be one of their key players.
