The rise of Luther Singh

Young South African international & SC Braga forward, Luther Singh (20) is a player to look out for in the near future.

Born & bred in the biggest township on the African continent, in Soweto. Where the boy of Indian descent took interest in the beautiful game. He was enrolled in at the famous Stars of Africa Academy headed by the legendary Farouk Khan at the age of 13 & was afforded the chance to train at 2 illustrious Brazilian academies in Fluminense & Vasco da Gama at the age of 16. It was evident by then that his skill was superior to that of his teammates & that he was destined for bigger things.

He never played professionally in his native South Africa after his talent was noticed by then Swedish second tier club GAIS were he then put pen to paper on a 2-year deal at just the tender age of 18.

His 1st season in Europe was all about adapting to his new surroundings & hence he took part in only 8 of GAIS's encounters with a return of 2 goals in total.

The second season was where he came into his own, becoming an integral part of the Swedish second tier side. He featured in a total of 32 encounters with a return of 10 goals & a host of bigger more established clubs in Europe like Serie A side Pescara, a then Zinedine Zidane coached Real Madrid Castilla, EPL club Swansea City & 2 Portuguese giants in Braga & Sporting Club defenders Portugal started taking notice of the teenager's contract at GAIS nearing its end. GAIS though were 'reluctant on selling their prospect in the hopes of tying him down to another contract though that never materialized.

A couple of months later the teenager was a free agent with a host of clubs hoping to secure his signature. The mercurial forward chose SC Braga of Portugal to be his next home & this is where he's flourished, having scored 6 goals & assisted a further 2 goals in 15 matches out of a possible 16 for the Braga B team.

Technically sound, skillful, direct & with an explosive burst of pace, he can play anywhere between the front 3 (LW/FW/RW). Though he excels in the Left Wing position as his blistering pace & silky runs often leave defenders for dead. He also has the knack of cutting in with his preferred right foot & releasing 1 of his signature venomous shots. This makes him a general threat in & around the 18-yard area as he can also strike a clean shot with either his left or right foot & generally has a knack for scoring goals. He is also an articulate set-piece taker & all these dimensions of his game make him an asset to the Braga setup.

He mesmerized the African football fraternity in the 2016 COSAFA Cup U-20 edition & in the 2017 AFCON U-20 edition, where he helped South Africa win the COSAFA Cup & lose to the hosts of the U-20 AFCON Zambia in the final as he finished as the top goalscorer & joint top goalscorer of the respective youth tournaments. He followed those performances up with some decent performances in a tough group D that had Japan, Uruguay & Italy in the 2017 U-20 World Cup.

He was subsequently shortlisted for the 2017 CAF Youth Player of the Year nominations, though he, unfortunately, fell off in the Top 3. Nevertheless, this proved that he had a great year & that the robust 20-year old looks ready for the big step up to first-team football at an established European outfit.