Kaizer Chiefs' goalkeeping crisis has put into the spotlight whether they have enough faith in their young shot-stoppers and their reported links with other international goalkeepers, raises a topic that Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos feels strongly about.
Amakhosi are not only in a transition period with the playing personnel but the goalkeeping department is also going through turbulence, as shot-stopper Brandon Petersen has made high-profile errors this season while veteran Itumeleng Khune has fared worse in Petersen's absence, as recently reported by Soccer Laduma.
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With Khune approaching the end of his playing days and Petersen not cementing the number one spot, Chiefs are believed to be monitoring Nigerian goalkeeper, currently at Chippa United Stanley Nwabili and Ugandan Salim Magoola at Richards Bay, as reported by the Siya crew.
However, Amakhosi have in the past trusted in their up and coming goalkeepers as the likes of Brian Baloyi, Emile Baron, Rowen Fernandez and Khune himself were given a chance to stake a claim for a number one position while still young.
The Glamour Boys have talented young goalkeepers in Bontle Molefe and Lungile Nkosi, who are both 20 and training with the first-team, although Nkosi was only invited during Molefi Ntseki's tenure and his promotion has not been made official.
The Siya crew recently reported that Molefe is considering leaving the club because of a lack of game time. Would Chiefs be bold enough to push either one of the young goalkeepers up the pecking order and give them a proper opportunity?
The third goalkeeper linked with Chiefs, is another foreign shot-stopper in Hugo Marques, formerly with Cape Town City and currently at Angolan home country club Petro de Luanda.
There has been a shortage of top South African goalkeepers in the PSL, as Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos previously expressed concerns that most shot-stoppers in the country's top flight are foreign nationals and this reduces the pool of goalkeepers available to Bafana.
That's a valid concern, as Polokwane City (Manuel Sapunga, Equatorial Guinea), Swallows (Daniel Akpeyi, Nigeria), Chippa, Sekhukhune United (Badra Ali Sangare, Ivory Coast), Royal AM (Hugo Nyame, Cameroon), Richards Bay and Cape Town Spurs (Sam Ramsbottom, England) all have number one goalkeepers who are foreign.
Before Ronwen Williams' move to Mamelodi Sundowns and the rise of Sipho Chaine at Orlando Pirates, the Brazilians for a long time had Denis Onyango (Uganda) and Kennedy Mweene (Zambia) fighting for the number one jersey while Richard Ofori (Ghana) was the number one at the Buccaneers.
Khune hoisted the South African flag high for a long time at Bafana, for the better part of his career and Chiefs' belief in their youngsters and their tradition of trusting in local goalkeepers has been tested, with their recent crisis and how they react could also affect the national team in future.
At the moment none of the keepers linked to Chiefs are close to a move there, so it remains to be seen if Amakhosi do turn to local options when the time comes to replace Khune and strengthen the first team.
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