Sundowns co-coach Mokwena says they will improve new Ethiopian arrival Nasir

11 August 2022 - 15:04
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Ahmed Abubeker Nasir, of Mamelodi Sundowns, in the DStv Premiership match against TS Galaxy at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
Ahmed Abubeker Nasir, of Mamelodi Sundowns, in the DStv Premiership match against TS Galaxy at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

The much-talked-about Ethiopian attacker Abubeker Nasir made his Mamelodi Sundowns debut during the team's 1-0 loss to TS Galaxy on Wednesday, and coach Rulani Mokwena says they will work hard to improve him.

Nasir was introduced after 64 minutes to replace ineffective Thabiso Kutumela and he showed glimpses of what he can do with good passing, interchanging of play and awareness.

Mokwena appealed to fans to be patient with the 22-year-old import as he was working hard to acclimatise and settle into a new environment.

“We just need to be patient with him; it takes a bit of time,” he said.

“What you see is what you get; he is a difficult player to try profile because you are talking about a 22-year-old player who for two consecutive seasons was the top goal scorer in the Ethiopian League.

“Last season he had to prematurely end the season in Ethiopia with about 14 to 15 goals and the eventual leading goal scorer overtook him with two or three games still to be played.

“I think he could have won the top goalscorer award but young players sometimes become difficult to profile because of the difficulty in engaging the potential.”

“I think everybody will see the possibilities of what he can bring to the side. We will work with him, we will improve him and we will try to make him a better player who fits into our group of players and system.”

It is not going to be easy for Nasir as he will be competing for starting places with Peter Shalulile, Thabiso Kutumela, Gift Motupa, Kermit Erasmus and Pavol Šafranko.


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