Orlando Pirates forward Zakhele Lepasa has tipped great things for DStv Diski Challenge (DDC) award-winning striker Boitumelo Radiopane.
Radiopane won big at the Premier Soccer League (PSL) Awards on Sunday evening – coming away with the DDC Player of the Season and the DDC top goalscorer on Sunday. The 19-year-old scored 24 goals in the Castle Lager championship this season.
The Sebokeng-born marksman earned his Pirates debut right at the beginning of the season in the Carling Cup against arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs.
Lepasa himself burst onto the scene in the Castle Lager Championship and he sees a lot of similarities between him and Radiopane.
“That boy reminds me of me when I was in the Castle League. I used to score four goals in one game just like he’s doing,” Lepasa told FARPost.
“He’s doing it in the MDC; I always tell him that if he believes he might even go overseas before I do. I wanted to go earlier, and I think he has that chance to go to Europe at a young age.”
Meanwhile, Pirates senior team co-coach Mandla Ncikazi was measured in his assessment of Radiopane, saying that his true test will come when he gets a chance in the top-flight for the Buccaneers, which Ncikazi says will come next season.
“Great potential and quality in him. He has the ability to score, use his head and use both feet, ability to play short, and play in the space behind. I like those qualities in him, but it is only potential,” Ncikazi told the media.
“Let’s give him an opportunity in the big league, and then he can start writing the right exams, but I am really optimistic that we’ve got a good player in him.
“We have to give him an opportunity soon; next season, I am sure he will get an opportunity. He is a good potential for this team, and it will be one of those great strikers based on the qualities that I have seen in him,” concluded Ncikazi.