Erstwhile Kaizer Chiefs striker Shane McGregor has warned the club to resist the impulse to sign a new striker if they lack requisite qualities, regretting the departure of Samir Nurkovic.

Chiefs' rather arduous bid to replace departed striking duo Nurkovic and Leonardo Castro has seen them assess Burundian international Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana and Musa Kamara from Sierra Leone. Former TS Galaxy marksman Wayde Lekay is also trianing at the club. 

As things stand, new recruit Ashley du Preez is the only recognised No 9 Amakhosi have. This puts the Glamour Boys under pressure to find another striker or two before the new season kicks off in the first week of August. 

Amakhosi's striker search suffered a massive blow early this week when their main target, Victor Letsoalo, joined Sekhukhune United, who are said to have paid less than R5m to Royal AM for his signature. When Chiefs registered their interest in the striker towards the end of last season, Royal outrageously slapped a R20m price tag on him.

Given their history of flopping when it comes to discovering proper foreign strikers in recent history, many Amakhosi fans are holding their breath amid this protracted striker search. Flops like Lazarous Kambole, Lewis Macha and Michelle Katsvairo fit the bill of foreign strikers who have failed spectacularly at Naturena in the past few seasons.

Lamenting the club's decision to release Nurkovic, McGregor has urged his former side to sign a new striker based on the qualities not because they're under pressure to sign one.

"For me, Nurkovic [who has since joined Royal] was a decent striker. Chiefs should have kept him because it's hard to get a striker who can score goals these days. They must be careful with the trialing strikers because they can do well on trial but only to find out the quality isn't there," McGregor told Sowetan.

"Chiefs must not sign a striker because they're desperate for one, but they must do so because of the qualities that striker has. If they don't see qualities, they must wait for the right time."

Bimenyimana was in SA last month when he scored before he was sent off as his Burundi team held Namibia to a 1-1 stalemate in a 2023 Afcon qualifier at FNB Stadium. The 24-year-old is a well-travelled striker who has previously plied his trade in countries like Slovakia, Latvia and Kazakhstan. Kamara, 21, has only played for his current side Bo Rangers in his home country.