Stuart Baxter Wanted to Bring Zakhele Lepasa to Sweden!
Stuart Baxter Wanted to Bring Zakhele Lepasa to Sweden! The striker has piqued the interest of the head coach.
Stuart Baxter Wanted to Bring Zakhele Lepasa to Sweden! The striker has piqued the interest of the head coach.
Stuart Baxter is the head coach of Helsingborgs IF in Sweden. He confirmed that he wanted the services of striker Zakhele Lepasa but couldn’t come to an agreement.
Zakes spent the second half of the season on loan at SuperSport United from Orlando Pirates. He completed the switch because he was unhappy at his game time at Matsatsantsa.
However, at SuperSport he could only manage ten appearances, where he scored two goals.
“I watched him for a while and noticed he wasn’t in the frame at Pirates,” Baxter told SABC Sport.
“Then I spoke to people at SuperSport, and they said he is not a regular there either and so naturally I wondered what his next move was because I quite like the player and believe Sweden would suit him.
“My thoughts were that we can’t afford to buy him outright. A loan move at a well-known club in Europe with the potential to then fight for promotion back to the topflight may suit Pirates to let him be in the [shop] window.
“To be fair I think they considered it,” he added.
Internationally, Lepasa has scored in his last two appearances for Bafana Bafana.
“When he scores for Bafana, it makes it tough for Pirates when he is a national team player. I think he was he was also ready for a challenge.
“It would have been good, but it became difficult. He’s got a lot of quality and can develop and grow in Sweden – he is good with link up play and knows where to find the space.
“Hugo sees those qualities too, I was hopeful. I saw a lot of different things for him.
“But as I understand, it’s not going to happen,” he concluded.
The striker will hope for more appearances at Orlando Pirates next season. Stuart Baxter Wanted to Bring Zakhele Lepasa to Sweden!
