Has Luke Baartman come of age at Kaizer Chiefs after scintillating display?

[p]The 20-year-old was a constant threat on the left wing and, in a side that at times battled for creativity last season, looked dangerous almost every time he touched the ball.[/p][p]He is in his fourth season as a professional but is still only 20 years old, and Saturday’s clash was only the 10th start of his career, from 32 appearances in all.[/p][p]When he burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cape-town-spurs/QaZCKNG1/"]Cape Town Spurs[/a] in 2023, there was an immediate ‘wow’ factor as he made his debut in a 2-1 win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/orlando-pirates/p4SF9EMI/"]Orlando Pirates[/a].[/p][p]Those in the know in Cape Town football circles had spoken of his talent for a few years, but he came through in a struggling Spurs side that were ultimately relegated that season.[/p][embed guid="4e5cf3d3-e039-48bc-aae3-541d30f017cd" url="https://x.com/KaizerChiefs/status/2083648579898388882?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]He played a bit-part role in their Motsepe Foundation Championship campaign the following year, which also ended in relegation, making two starts in 12 appearances before moving to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/kaizer-chiefs/fFZ2CGx0/"]Chiefs[/a] for the 2025/26 campaign.[/p][p]He made one start in seven appearances as experience was preferred over youth, but his place in the team for the opening game of this campaign will hopefully be a turning point.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/baartman-luke/bmSfODcl/"]Baartman[/a] may have had a fallow few years, but he is a player who can drive Chiefs forward in attack and will most likely, over time, end up as a central playmaker behind the strikers.[/p][p]But for now, he is keeping Pule Mmodi out of the side on the left, with the more experienced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chislett-ethan/YiEH0iq2/"]Ethan Chislett[/a], another who played a bit-part role last season, preferred in the ‘10’ position.[/p][image alt="Match statistics" id="f3e1642c-6090-4b50-9ff8-e5ef8746d84a" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="0a97c011-5654-4450-93f4-5505e9a381e2" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p][b]“It’s good being a Kaizer Chiefs player, but it’s been tough for me not playing,”[/b] Baartman said last season. [b]“There’s a lot of competition in the team, so I just need to continue working hard in training and on the field, and leave the rest up to the coaches.[/b][/p][p][b]“When I arrived, the team was doing well, even though there were ups and downs, like anywhere. If the coaches had given me more chances, I think I would have done better.”[/b][/p][p]He feels competition for places in the team will drive everyone forward.[/p][p][b]“When the people playing ahead of me are doing well, I also do well,” [/b]he said.[/p][p]An in-form Baartman would also be an interesting proposition for Bafana Bafana as they build towards the next World Cup.[/p][p]He is already a junior international and excelled in the age-group teams, so the step up to senior international football would be a natural progression.[/p][p]But that will only happen with regular minutes at Chiefs, whose next assignment is an MTN8 quarter-final against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/golden-arrows/C6CjDdNg/"]Lamontville Golden Arrows[/a] next weekend.[/p]