Johannesburg - SuperSport United's Kegan Johannes is fast emerging as one of the best defenders in the DStv Premiership following a stellar season 2021/2022 campaign.
The 21-year-old is a graduate of the famous Ajax Cape Town academy(now Cape Town Spurs) and made the step up to Matsatsantsa on a free transfer after an impressive season at the Cape Town-based side.
Johannes will begin this season with new club coach Gavin Hunt and most likely a new partner in defence alongside former Bafana Bafana captain Thulani Hlatshwayo.
The club have roped in the tried and tested and Johannes believes the arrival of the duo shows the club's ambition of winning trophies ahead of his second season in Pretoria.
"The coach is very experienced and I'm looking forward to working with him in the coming season and hopefully he can help us win trophies," said Johannes.
"My ambition for the upcoming season is winning trophies with the club and that's always been my ambition. The club I play for offers a lot of youngsters opportunities so it gives me that added boost to work even harder because there's always an opportunity ahead so I'm working on my personal development at the moment.”
Johannes' ability to play both right and centre back made him an integral figure in former club coach Kaitano Tembo's team last season, making a total of 18 appearances in both positions and put himself on the shortlist of future Bafana Bafana stars.
He recently captained a youthful South African national team side in the recent Cosafa Cup, leading them to a Plate Triumph which meant they finished fifth in the competition.
The Cape Town-born man is currently with the Bafana squad preparing for their African Nations Champions (CHAN) second leg qualifier against the Comoros, a nation they lead 1-0 on aggregate.
Matsatsantsa have been for the longest time a team that has been able to strike a balance between winning trophies, and developing some of the best players in the country.
The return of Hunt comes as no surprise, however, as the club relied heavily on the youngsters for the better part of the season last time out and only narrowly made the top eight on the final day on goal difference.
The appointment of one of the darlings of the club, a man that led them to an unprecedented three league titles in a row all those years ago, signals a change in the club's ambition to rediscover their place as one of the challengers for all trophies on offer.
IOL Sport