Out of the Hunt: Permanent Lepasa move 'out of my hands', with Sundowns poised to pop champagne

SuperSport United head coach Gavin Hunt admits that on-loan Orlando Pirates striker Zakhele Lepasa remaining with the Tshwane giants on a permanent basis is not his decision to make.

READ | Lepasa over Foster? Bafana coach explains strange decision that paid off in Liberia

The 26-year-old made a surprise exit from Soweto during the January transfer window to join Matsatsantsa on a six-month loan deal.

It is a move that has paid dividends to all parties involved: to the player, Pirates, SuperSport and national team Bafana Bafana.

"He got thrown at us," Hunt said when asked how the move transpired.

"We looked at it, and we took him. Obviously, he hadn't played a lot [at Pirates].

"He was a little bit rusty, but now he's played a few games [for us]. He looks to be getting better and better."

Lepasa has scored two goals in five matches for SuperSport after much work was done in training to fine-tune his goalscoring instincts.

On Tuesday, the pacey striker also found the back of the net for Bafana in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying win against Liberia in Monrovia. 

But what are the chances of the forward remaining in Tshwane on a permanent basis?

"Let's see what happens," said Hunt, who is not ruling out Lepasa staying on, but admits that he does not have the final say on the matter.

"Is he likely to join? I don't know those things. I don't know. It's out of my hands because that obviously gets done at a higher level.

"Right now, I mean, if he does well in the next seven games, you would like to keep him. He scored two goals last week for us, and we got this week coming. So, let's see."

SuperSport are second on the DStv Premiership table with 39 points and two ahead of Pirates in third as the league resumes this weekend after the