Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
LYNOTH CHIKUHWA says he wants to shake off the hangover that followed him through last year after an outstanding 2024 Premier Soccer League season.
So much was expected from the 31-year-old striker when he crossed the floor from Highlanders to Scottland early in 2025, riding the momentum of a beautiful story he had written at Bosso.
After winning the Golden Boot with 17 goals and finishing as Soccer Star of the Year runner up in 2024, Chikuhwa was suddenly on every club’s wish list.
It was the cash rich Mabvuku side that flexed its muscle to land his signature.
Yet the move failed to deliver. Chikuhwa struggled for minutes under coach Tonderai Ndiraya and never found rhythm or confidence.
The situation deteriorated quickly. He started not more than twice and was eventually loaned to Chicken Inn during the mid season transfer window.
Although he showed signs of rediscovering himself in familiar Bulawayo surroundings, especially towards the end of the year, it proved too little too late.
With one more year still remaining on his Scottland contract, a return was expected, but the parties opted for a mutual termination.
Chikuhwa has since signed a 12-month deal with Chicken Inn, with an option to extend, and believes this is the platform for a full reset.
“I didn’t get to really settle at Scottland last year. I was expecting to flourish there but then in football not all things go according to plan,” said Chikuhwa.
“It’s not like there was something bad at the team but it was just like things failed to work out for me. I had all the support from both the technical team and my teammates but things just didn’t work out well for me.
“When I moved to Chicken Inn things improved a bit but I managed to score only three goals. That was because I had to also take a bit of time to settle and that the team was under pressure to survive contributed to the poor showing because we knew as players that if the club went down, we were going to taint our names.”
Interestingly, Chikuhwa is reuniting with Ndiraya, now the Chicken Inn coach, just seven months after the same coach sanctioned his loan move.
But that reunion does not trouble the striker, who still holds Ndiraya in high regard.
“When I moved from Scottland, it wasn’t because we had a poor working relationship with the coach. It was because I never really got to settle at Scottland. You know such things are to be expected in football,” added Chikuhwa.
“I am ready to put in the work under a coach who already knows my potential and areas where I need to improve.
“I am in a familiar environment and my wish is to reinvigorate myself and try to crawl back to the form that I was when I was at Highlanders in 2024.”
