Thatayaone Ditlhokwe’s move to Kaizer Chiefs disappointed scout

Thatayaone Ditlhokwe‘s move from SuperSport United to Kaizer Chiefs left everyone disappointed, including the man who scouted him.

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Paul Matthews, who is SuperSport United’s chief scout, brought Ditlhokwe to the club in December 2019 only to lose him for free in January 2023.

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Ditlhokwe signed a pre-contract contract with Chiefs, and this was after he had entered the final six months of his contract with Matsatsantsa.

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Speaking to SABC Sport, Matthews admitted that he was disappointed to see the Botswana national team captain leave for Chiefs.

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However, as a veteran scout in football, this wasn’t the first time Matthews experiences such, making mention of some top players who left Jomo Cosmos back in the day.

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Matthews scouted top players such as the late Phil Masinga and Sizwe Motaung, Augustine Makalakalane, Thomas Madigage and Helman Mkhalele among many others.

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THATAYAONE DITLHOKWE TO KAIZER CHIEFS LEFT CHIEFS SCOUT DISAPPOINTED

“Obviously, it was disappointing for everybody. You sort of know sometimes that good players are gonna move on. I remember when I was a kid at Cosmos [Jomo Cosmos], there was all the players that would [move on],” Matthews said.

“Phil Masinga would move on and the next year, you’d have Augustine Makalakalane and Thomas Madigage and those two went to Switzerland. Then Helman Mkhalele and Sizwe Motaung came in as a centre forward then a right midfielder then he became a right back and a centre back.”

“In order for other players to get an opportunity, people move on and you want people to go overseas and become superstars and become multimillionaires and secure futures for their families,” he added.

“You know, it’s disappointing for your club when you lose players but when they are that good it’s inevitable. You’re happy for them to move. The person is getting an opportunity to better himself and show what he can do in the higher levels.”