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Njabulo Blom move to St Louis City unpacked by Matthew Rusike

Former Kaizer Chiefs striker and agent Matthew Rusike has opened up on what happened with Njabulo Blom at St Louis City and what could have informed the decision to go to Vietnam.

Blom had an internal struggle with Chiefs amidst interest from St. Louis City, before his transfer eventually went through in December 2023.

The Amakhosi academy graduate, however, spent nine months in America before he encountered challenges that saw him seek a loan move back to The Glamour Boys.

Rusike, who facilitated Blom’s loan deal with the Soweto giants ahead of the 2024/25 season, has opened up on why things did not work out for the 26-year-old at both St. Louis City and Chiefs, who did not take up an option to re-sign him permanently.

“It’s football. The football landscape has changed, different countries offer different things, unfortunately he suffered an injury (at St. Louis City) which was not within his plans,” Rusike told the Siya crew.

“But the player makes a decision on where he wants to go, sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t, I’m not saying it has not worked out but at the end of the day, football is difficult like any other job.

“I think every football club has their plans, Njabulo is a great player, great talent but at the end of the day clubs are structured and I think when it comes Kaizer Chiefs, I’m quite confident they are rebuilding and they have a long-term plan,” the former Amakhosi and Jomo Cosmos striker said.

“Kaizer Junior definitely knows what he’s doing, at the end of the day it is not as simple as a player is free and he can stay at a football club.”

Blom currently plies his trade in Vietnam for Thep Xanh Nam Dinh FC, sharing the same club with Percy Tau, as Rusike suggested what could have attracted the Bafana Bafana midfielder to venture into what seems to be a strange league to South Africans.

“For many South Africans, these Asian leagues are somewhat unknown but at the end of the day there are clubs competing in the Asian Champions League, the same club Njabulo signed for, they compete in the Asian Champions League,” Rusike explained.

“So it’s a good window to potentially progress within different markets. So there’s no one traditional way to do everything, as maybe a lot of South Africans can think,” the Sweden-based agent added.

*Rusike is not the agent of Blom.

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