Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has revealed that he would have loved to move to Kaizer Chiefs if he had the opportunity during the summer transfer window, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nwabali has enjoyed a spectacular 2024. The Super Eagles star was called up to the national team for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after some brilliant performances for South African Premier League club Chippa United.
At the 2023 AFCON, Nwabali was very reliable, as he registered four clean sheets in the run-up to the Super Eagles’ second-place finish.
Following his brilliant performances, the 28-year-old shot-stopper was linked to some clubs abroad and some of South Africa’s biggest teams like Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.
However, the talks failed to materialize, as Nwabali stayed put at Chippa United, with time still left on his current deal. Eventually, Kaizer Chiefs went on to sign Rwandan shotstopper Fiacre Ntwari.
Now, in a recent development, Nwabali has admitted that he was indeed willing to dump Chippa United for Chiefs. However, they failed to reach an agreement.
“Maybe clubs [thought] the chairman was desperate to sell Stanley and come to pay peanuts, that’s where the chairman comes in.” — Nwabali on Metro FM Sports, per Soccer Laduma.
“Even if the club puts a market price there’s room to negotiate. You can’t expect the player to leave for free or for so much.
“To be honest, Kaizer Chiefs is the club I really want to play [for] in South Africa, it’s the kind of club I wanted to play [for] with all my heart. I won’t say I’ve been supporting them but this is the club I felt like I wanna play [for].
“The Rwanda guy [Ntwari] is doing really well, I won’t take that away from him but Kaizer Chiefs was the club among the whole clubs in South Africa I felt like to go to.” — Nwabali added.
Despite his inability to get a big move, Nwabali has started the season decently with one clean sheet in seven games. He will be looking to continue his impressive performances for Chippa United and probably get a big move.