Nasreddine Nabi and Kaizer Chiefs’ hunt for a new striker has taken them to Europe.
According to reports, Amakhosi have been tracking 29-year-old Robert Polievka in a bid to sort out their goalscoring woes.
During the recently completed campaign, Chiefs often outplayed teams. They controlled ball possession and created more scoring opportunities. But they struggled to put the ball in the net. As a result, the club finished in a disappointing ninth place in the league.
To deal with those issues up front, Polievka has been identified as the man to make their attack deadly.
So, who is the man who has been tasked with making Kaizer Chiefs great again?
As it turns out, he’s not new on Chiefs’ radar. Chiefs had a chance to sign him back in 2020, when Gavin Hunt was still in charge. However, the deal collapsed as the Soweto giants were under a transfer ban handed to them by FIFA over the signing of Malagasy player Andriamirado Aro Hasina Andrianamimanana, also known as Dax.
While the forward’s goalscoring numbers for Hungary’s MTK Budapest are not anything to write home about – 4 goals in 28 games – his form in his native Slovakia makes for better reading. In 149 games for previous club Dukla Banská Bystrica, he found the back of the net an impressive 79 times. He was a goal machine.
Chiefs will, however, be worried that he couldn’t take his goalscoring form from his time at home to Hungary.
Signing Polievka wouldn’t be the first time Chiefs dipped their toes in Eastern Europe. Back in 2019, the club signed Serbian striker Samir Nurkovic from Hungarian club Komarno, and he played a key role as they mounted a serious challenge for the league title.
The club will be hoping Polievka can have the same impact.
Polievka is not the only player Chiefs are tracking as they build for next season. According to reports, the club are also keeping tabs on Pyramids FC’s Fiston Mayele. However, with Mamelodi Sundowns also entering the race for the DR Congo hitman’s signature, the chances he’ll end up at Naturena are looking slim.
IOL Sport
