"I have always wanted to play for Chiefs" — Renaldo Leaner didn't dress it up. When his contract at Sekhukhune United expired, there was really only one call he was waiting for.
The 28-year-old goalkeeper has joined Amakhosi as a free agent and is already in Spain with the squad for pre-season at Pinatar Arena. No transfer fee, no complicated negotiation. Just a boyhood dream and a contract.
What Leaner actually brings to Naturena
Three seasons at Sekhukhune — 45 appearances, 42 goals conceded, 15 clean sheets. That's a respectable record for a side that wasn't exactly a top-four outfit, and it was enough to get Hugo Broos paying attention. Leaner earned a Bafana Bafana call-up earlier this year for friendlies against Panama, though he didn't make the final cut with Ronwen Williams, Sipho Chaine, and Ricardo Goss ahead of him in the pecking order.
That international brush matters. It signals where the ceiling might be — and also where the pressure is coming from.
Before Sekhukhune, there was Ajax Cape Town, then Maritzburg United. The goalkeeper has been quietly building a CV that now lands him at the biggest club in South African football. His reaction to seeing the Naturena facilities for the first time says something too: "I was amazed and impressed... everything is here to make a world-class training base." Coming from someone used to operating outside the PSL's elite, that's a genuine adjustment in environment — not just a PR quote.
A busy season makes this signing more interesting than it looks
Chiefs aren't walking into a quiet campaign. They're back in the MTN8 for the first time in two seasons, chasing Betway Premiership honours, and returning to continental football through the CAF Confederation Cup. That fixture load will test the depth of every department — including between the posts.
Whether Leaner starts or competes for the number one spot, Amakhosi's goalkeeping market just got tighter. Anyone looking at Chiefs' defensive structure for the Confederation Cup should factor in that this is a goalkeeper who's never played at that level before. Upside is real. So is the unknown.
He arrived at Naturena for the first time only to sign his contract. Now he has to make the shirt his.
