Forgotten Bafana striker Luther Singh finding form in Portugal

Forgotten Bafana Bafana striker Luther Singh is showing glimpses of form that could see him recalled if they are noticed by national team coach Hugo Broos.

Lorenz Sleeuwaert, the agent who facilitated the R205m move of his other client, Lyle Foster (Singh's cousin), from Belgian club KVC Westerlo to English Championship pacesetters Burnley last week, told TimesLIVE Singh, 25, is slowly gaining form that could earn a move to bigger clubs in Europe.

“He's at Chavez in the Portugal first-tier league now on loan [until the end of the season] from FC Copenhagen [in Denmark] after being injured for a while. But now he's back,” Sleeuwaert said from Belgium. 

Statistics show Singh, who mainly plays as a left-winger for his Primeira Liga outfit, has featured in 13 of tenth-placed Chaves' 18 league matches in 2022-23. Singh had a 36-minute run on Monday when Chavez lost 2-1 away to Vitoria de Guimaraes. 

“He's featuring in most of the games, getting valuable minutes,” said Sleeuwaert, who will soon move to Manchester, 35km from Burnley, to be closer to Foster as the striker acclimatises to his new environment.

The news of Singh earning game time should please Broos, who will need SA's forwards available when Bafana play crucial back-to-back 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Liberia in March.

Four points should be enough for SA to qualify for the Nations Cup finals in Ivory Coast, which have been shifted to January and February 2024.

Singh last played for Bafana in a 0-0 2022 Fifa World Cup-qualifying draw with Zimbabwe in March 2021, Broos's first official match as SA coach.

The striker fell out of favour with Broos when he could not honour a further call-up to the national team in 2021 because he had not renewed his travel documents.

French-based striker Lebo Mothiba, who has played 10 matches and scored two goals for Racing Strasbourg in Ligue 1, is another player Broos could bring into his squad for the Liberia games.