Born just two months apart, these teenagers are making a statement

By Petros Kausiyo

Leicester City teenage sensation Admiral Muskwe could soon make his Warriors bow amid revelations that coach Callisto Pasuwa has been closely following his progress and is keen on assessing him in national team colours.

Muskwe has been making waves at English Premiership champions Leicester City who, in June this year, handed him a three-year professional contract along with midfielder Harvey Barnes that guaranteed them a chance to train with the first team.

The 18 year-old was also voted the Leicester City Academy Player of the Season for 2015-16. His exploits for both the Foxes Academy and Under-21 sides have not escaped the attention of Warriors coach Pasuwa who revealed yesterday he was eager to see how the tall striker could fare in a national team set-up.

With ZIFA lining up at least five friendlies internationals before the Warriors head off to Gabon for the 2017 African Cup of Nations final in Gabon, Muskwe could get his chance to impress the coach and his technical crew before Pasuwa finalises on his 23-man side for the tourney.

Muskwe told The Herald that he was relishing the opportunity to play for his fatherland and said he would grab any call up to the senior side with both hands.

“It will be a huge honour to get an opportunity to play for my country and it is something that I am looking forward to,” he said.

He also spoke about the impact that England striker Jamie Vardy and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez have made on his game especially after getting the nod from Leicester City Manager Claudio Ranieri to train with the Premiership champions.

“I feel honoured that the manager Ranieri has confidence in me. It has been an amazing experience just working with Jamie in the last year. Riyad also has a great personality off the pitch and just the other day he jokingly said he was looking forward to our meeting in Gabon and I hope the Warriors can get one over the Algerians,” Muskwe said.

He argued that Zimbabwe had a number of talented players in their team and would have to arrive in Gabon with their heads high and avoid being intimidated by the profiles of the players that Algeria, Senegal and Tunisia have in their ranks.

In giving the strongest hint he could soon include Muskwe in his squad, Pasuwa said the teenage forward was among a host of Zimbabweans abroad whose games he was keenly following and would need to have a closer look at before he names his provisional Nations Cup squad.

Pasuwa also maintained that the door remained open for all Zimbabweans to stake a claim for places in his squad, which gives hopes to the likes of Burnley defender Tendai Darikwa and Colchester forward MaCauley Bonne who have been battling to sort out their passports.

While all the focus from here has been on Darikwa, who has been struggling to break into the English Premiership team this season, the club also have another rising Zimbabwean on their books who is making a big impact.

Chakwana signed a two-year deal with Burnley last year and has been starring in the club’s youth team, knocking on the doors of the reserve side, with his handlers confident he will soon break into the first team.

A winger, who can also be deployed as an attacking midfielder and an out-and-out striker with an eye for goals, Chakwana has been receiving rave reviews in England where he has been developing in the Burnley structures, under professional guidance, and is highly valued by the Premiership side.

Like his teammate Darikwa, Chakwana was born in England on October 25 1998, and moved to Burnley after having started his career at his hometown club Wigan Athletic, a former Premiership side.

“Chakwana is another player who possesses pace. The winger, another graduate of the Academy system, poses a serious threat down the channels, complementing the vast amount of pace in the current squad,” Burnley said on their official website.

The player describes himself as a “quick, strong, skilful winger,” who believes he “can become a great player.â”

Burnley Football Club have formally welcomed the new first year scholars for the forthcoming 2015/16 season.

He was one of the eight new players who signed their deals to stay at Turf Moor, Burnley’s home-ground, last year, putting pen to paper on two-year deals.

The other players were Olatunde Bayode, a full back/winger, Miles Fenton, a central midfielder, Billy Grogan, a right-back, Mark Howarth, a central midfielder, Connor King, a goalkeeper, Tyler Shrimpton, a winger and Tommy Wood who is a striker.

Chakwana has even been taken to Austria by the Premiership club as part of their camp. Earlier this month, the Burnley youth team made it four straight wins to go above Blackpool and into the top six of the North West Youth Alliance after beating the same opponents with Chakwana, Wood and Bayode on target for them in the second half.

Last month the Burnley youth team secured their place in the quarter-finals of the northern section of the Youth Alliance Cup thanks to a last-minute winner from Chakwana.

Pasuwa said he had since his initial appoint ment as Under-23 coach resolved to help build a stronger senior side for Zimbabwe that drew the bulk of the talent from youth internationals.

“I have always said that as long as a player is Zimbabwean and is eligible to play for us he has an equal chance of being considered for the Warriors. We have a number of talented players out there and Muskwe is one such player whom I would want to assess closely in the national team,” Pasuwa said.

Muskwe has also regularly received rave reviews on the Leicester City website with the Zimbabwean forward being touted to be the next Vardy who has the capacity to lead the Foxes’ line of attack.

“Muskwe, was recognised for his contribution last term at the Club’s End of Season Awards, where he was crowned Academy Player of the Season.

“Not only has the striker been in fine goal scoring form for Trevor Peake’s Under-18s, but he’s also made a valuable contribution at Under-21s level – including a brace of goals in the 3-0 win over Chelsea on the final day of the season.

“Central midfielder Barnes, 18, has also enjoyed a breakthrough season during which he’s gained plenty of experience at Under-21s level, as well as continuing to perform well for the Club’s Under-18s side, who he helped to the FA Youth Cup Semi-Final alongside Muskwe in 2015,” reads one of the posts on the Leicester City website.

Pasuwa’s men are being lined up to face regional rivals South Africa, West Africans giants Cote d’Ivoire and Cameroon and North African powerhouses and five-time African champions Egypt among their warm-up matches. The Warriors could also yet travel to Gabon for a date against the Nations Cup hosts. The Herald