Top scout convinced Adams was destined for Europe
· Citizen
Former Ajax Cape Town Head of Youth Scouting Thembela ‘Tera’ Maliwa believes the late Jayden Adams was destined for a successful career in Europe, saying the midfielder had all the qualities needed to thrive at the highest level.
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Adams’ career had been on a remarkable upward trajectory after helping Mamelodi Sundowns lift the CAF Champions League title last season before representing Bafana Bafana at the FIFA World Cup.
Before his untimely death on June 11, the gifted midfielder featured in all three of South Africa’s group-stage matches and played a key role in helping Bafana Bafana reach the knockout stages for the first time.
“When I spoke to him and I said to him that I would like to get a jersey of a team that he’s going to in Europe,” Maliwa said on Radio 2000.
“He asked me why I said that and I told him he’s not going to come back from the World Cup because there will be one or two teams that will take him. I’m not at Sundowns but I can tell you that there should be one or two teams that would have been interested in Jayden.
“He is a player that would have made it outside of South Africa and in Europe. If you look at how he plays, he’s so clever, technically good, tactically superior and he was disciplined. He was a player you needed next to you in your team.”
Although Adams established himself as one of the country’s best midfielders during his time at Stellenbosch FC before earning a move to Sundowns, Maliwa revealed that he first discovered him as a promising right-back.
“We had a programme called first touch at Ajax. It specialised in identifying 9,10 and 11-year-olds. That’s how Jayden came to join the first touch programme,” Maliwa recalled.
“From Stellenbosch, it was him and Luke Le Roux that we had identified. They joined the team of Tashreeq Matthews who is now at Sundowns. What people don’t know is that Jayden was not a midfielder, he was the best right back we’ve ever seen.
“When we had him, we knew he would replace Abbubaker Mobara who was already in the first team at the time. He started playing as a midfielder when he was 17 or 19 if I’m not mistaken but he started as a right back.”
Meanwhile, Sundowns have arrived in Austria for their pre-season training camp after their departure was delayed following Adams’ death. The Brazilians are scheduled to face Hertha Berlin on Tuesday before taking on Al Hilal on July 24.