The dust has barely settled on his abrupt departure from Naturena, but former Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Khalil Ben Youssef isn’t holding back.
Fresh off guiding Amakhosi to a respectable third-place Betway Premiership finish and a spot in the CAF Confederation Cup—the club’s best league placement in six long years—Ben Youssef and his tactical partner Cedric Kaze were surprisingly released by management to clear the path for incoming boss Fernando Da Cruz.
Breaking his silence during an explosive, unfiltered interview with Andile Ncube on Sports Amplified, the Tunisian tactician dropped a massive reality check for the board, warning that the Soweto giants will continue to struggle for silverware if they keep relying on unproven academy graduates instead of breaking the bank for established, plug-and-play superstars.
The Naturena Shopping List: 5 Positions Amakhosi Must Fill
Ben Youssef did not mince his words, explicitly diagnosing the exact structural gaps in the squad that the newly appointed Fernando Da Cruz will need to fix immediately if he wants to survive the hot seat.
BEN YOUSSEF'S MANDATORY SIGNING SHEET
1 Goalkeeper (To provide elite competition for Bvuma & Petersen)
1 Centre-Back (To anchor and solidify the defensive line)
1 Left Full-Back (To inject modern attacking & defensive balance)
1 Central Midfielder (To dictate the engine-room tempo)
1 Left Winger (To add explosive, clinical creativity out wide)Khalil Ben Youssef on Chiefs’ Transfer Philosophy:
“The other four outfield players must be top players ready to play immediately. They must not have injury baggage or come from a stretch of not playing. They must be from the top division and ready to perform if we want to compete to win the PSL.
“Otherwise, Chiefs can continue doing the same thing: bringing in players without experience, building step-by-step, and taking forever to finally be ready to compete.”
Experience Over Youth: The Big Debate
Ben Youssef’s parting advice strikes at the very heart of Kaizer Chiefs’ recent developmental strategy. While the club has successfully fast-tracked brilliant academy prospects into the first team over recent seasons, the tactician insists that a giant club cannot restore its glory days on the backs of teenagers alone.
Without immediate, elite investment in proven top-flight talent during this transfer window, Ben Youssef believes the club is simply stalling its own ambitions.
The pressure now shifts entirely to Da Cruz—who previously worked briefly with Ben Youssef and Nasreddine Nabi at Naturena before his stint with the Moroccan Football Federation—to see if he can convince the Glamour Boys’ management to loosen the purse strings.
