'To be honest' - Chippa United goalie Nwabali confesses his admiration for Kaizer Chiefs

Chippa United glovesman Stanley Nwabali has confessed his admiration for South African Premiership giants Kaizer Chiefs.

The Nigeria national teamer was heavily linked with a summer switch to AmaKhosi but a deal didn't happen, and the club opted to recruit Rwanda’s number one, Fiacre Ntwari from TS Galaxy instead. 

It has been suggested that Kaizer Chiefs were priced out of a move, with Chippa United initially valuing Nwabali in the region of two million euros before reducing the asking price to a quarter of their original valuation. 

Despite having a bit of Premiership experience, Ntwari has yet to win over the fans, having failed to keep a clean sheets in five outings in the South African top flight. 

Nwabali put himself in the shop window after his impressive performances for the Super Eagles at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The 28-year-old set a new record for the most minutes without a conceding a goal by a Nigerian goalkeeper at the Africa Cup of Nations, surpassing Super Eagles legend Ike Shorunmu who featured in two AFCONs. 

After the tournament in Ivory Coast, Nwabali was rumored to be on the radar of English, Saudi Arabian and South African teams but nothing came out of it.

Chippa United offered the former Enyimba player a contract extension in August, and he was subsequently appointed captain for the 2024-2025 season.

Speaking to Metro FM, via Soccer Laduma, Nwabali stated: "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 want to 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 has posted two clean sheets in seven games in the Premiership so far this season, while conceding eight goals.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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