Collins Mbesuma says Justin Shonga should stay at Orlando Pirates and fight for his place but must be open to a loan move if he isn’t getting enough game-time.
The 23-year-old Zambian international joined Bucs from Nkwazi FC in 2017 and featured regularly over the past two seasons.
This campaign though, Shonga has played just eight Premier Soccer League games, without registering a goal.
Former Buccaneers striker and compatriot, Mbesuma, says the player must do what is best for his career, amid reported interest from Tanzanian team Simba SC.
He told Goal: “Yeah, it’s a tough one for Shonga. I’m not sure what he wants for his career but the advice I can give him is that as a soccer player, the more you play, the greater your chances of going far.
“The more you sit and don’t play, that will affect your future and I think for me, you will remember what happened to me.
“I went to Golden Arrows and I came to Pirates and played regularly. So, I think it’s all about what Shonga wants because it’s really difficult to say going to Simba SC is a step back in his career when he is not playing regular football.”
Mbesuma enjoyed an exceptional PSL career alongside a number of overseas spells and a healthy record of 22 goals in 65 games for his national team. Shonga has seven goals in 15 games for Zambia.
Mbesuma added: “For me, he must be prepared to fight for his place at Pirates because it’s a big club. If he doesn’t play at Pirates that affects his chances to play for the national team. I can say, he must stay and fight for his position and he can’t relax.
“If there’s no chance for him to play at Pirates, he needs to find a team and get a loan move and that depends on his contract at Pirates because the more you sit, the more he won’t perform and realize his dream of going to Europe. He will get game time elsewhere.”
– TEAMtalk media
