Farouk Khan elaborates on teen star Kgomotso Madiba’s Fluminense move

Farouk Khan elaborates on teen star Kgomotso Madiba’s Fluminense move

Stars of Africa Academy founder and coach Farouk Khan has given further details on 17-year-old Kgomotso Madiba’s move to Brazilian giants Fluminense.

The youth international impressed after spending more than two months in South America as part of a collaborative initiative between the club and the academy. 

Speaking to SABC Sport, Khan expressed his delight at seeing the U20 AFCON winner secure such a move, even though he narrowly missed out on Amajita’s FIFA U20 World Cup squad. 

"We were optimistic that he would make it, but in fairness, he's only 17 now, and I think a lot of the players in that squad are currently playing for PSL clubs," said Khan.

"So their ages are probably between 19-20, with maybe an exception of a few – I think [Mfundo] Vilakazi is 18 or 19 now, so I think KG still has a couple of years.

"But the coaches invited him to the initial squad before they chose their final squad, and they liked him a lot, but I think we have to be fair to the fact that he's still young and he has time.

"I think the big boost is that he's now going to join a club that has huge history in developing top players – currently they have two players at Chelsea, both Brazilian, I think Estevao is the one." 

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Khan believes Madiba is destined to become a future Bafana Bafana star and expects Fluminense’s academy setup to fast-track his development. 

"When KG goes to that particular academy, I get goosebumps because he's hungry. All he said when I empathised with him [for missing the U20 squad], he said, 'Coach, I'm ready now to go and work,'" he added.

"He didn't take it hard, he understood that in life these things do happen, but he's going to come out stronger, and I do think that KG is going miss out on a couple of [junior] stages.

"And when he gets there, in the next year or two, I think he'll be ready to be scouted for the national team. I think by the time he gets to 19-20, he will be a player we'll see in the [Bafana Bafana] team."