Orlando Pirates' Monnapule Saleng Slipped Through the Fingers of Kaizer Chiefs

• It could have all turned out very differently for South Africa's hottest footballing property Monnapule Saleng
• He is currently tearing it up on both wings for Orlando Pirates, earning himself an unsurprising national team call-up
• It turns out that he could have eventually donned the black and gold colours of arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs

Imagine Monnapule Saleng ripping it up for Kaizer Chiefs.

It turns out Orlando Pirates' hottest property could have been in the famous gold-and-black of the Amakhosi.

According to IOL, Saleng almost joined his childhood team but for a Chiefs scout overlooking him, saying:

“I was meant to play for Chiefs because there was a scout that was tracking me while I was at Free State Stars. I don’t know what happened."

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He added: "In the end, I ended up playing for Pirates. I could have played for Chiefs after Free State Stars, but they [Chiefs] delayed.”

The 24-year-old recently earned himself a call-up for Bafana Bafana after his sensational recent run of form, as reported by Goal.

He will likely make his international debut tomorrow night at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit against Mozambique. If not, he will probably make his debut against Angola at the same venue on Sunday afternoon, as Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos tests his team's depth.

This will be the last run of friendly fixtures, before the national side plays in crucial 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next year.

Monnapule Saleng punishes Veli Mothwa

Monnapule Saleng's sensational free kick, which inspired Orlando Pirates to the win over AmaZulu in the MTN8 final, was no fluke.

In the 25th minute of the match, Saleng wickedly curled the ball in over Usuthu goalkeeper Veli Mothwa in what appeared to be a cross. However, as reported by Sports Brief, a viral video showed he had attempted this earlier in the competition.

SuperSport Football on Facebook shared the video, which juxtaposed the goal with a free kick he took against Mamelodi Sundowns in the first leg of the semi-finals at Orlando Stadium last month.