Justice Chabalala appears to have won the admiration of coach Josef Zinnbauer who has asked his management to bring him back at Orlando Pirates.

Chabalala, who is currently on loan at Bloemfontein Celtic, struggled to break into the Pirates starting line-up before he was sent to Free State. He has been reviving his career at Celtic under former Bucs defender Lehlohonolo Seema, who is the head coach.

The move seems to have helped him as Zinnbauer is now impressed with what he has seen in the defender.

According to a source close to the defender, Zinnbauer was watching Chabalala in one of the Celtic games and was impressed with his performance.

"He has already instructed the management to bring him back next season. Before he was loaned to Celtic, he didn't see much of him," the source said.

"He saw him in one of the Celtic matches when he cleared the ball on the line and said his defenders couldn't defend against Bidvest Wits in the Nedbank Cup, so he wants him back."

The 28-year-old defender has been playing regularly at Celtic and he has contributed positively to the team as they reached the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup.

His contract with Pirates is set to end in June 2021 and Celtic were keen to make his loan permanent, but it seems like that won't happen with Zinnbauer now appearing to be a fan.

Since he joined Pirates four years ago, he has been loaned twice to Chippa United and now to Celtic.