Orlando Pirates: Andries Sebola backs ‘Baby Haaland’ to deliver

Andries Sebola believes Orlando Pirates striker Sebastian Pedersen should be given more time before he is judged, dismissing comparisons with foreign forwards who failed to make an impact at the club.

Pedersen, 27, joined Pirates from Norwegian club Sogndal Fotball during the off-season and was quickly nicknamed “Baby Haaland” because he is from the same country as Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.

However, the Norwegian has made only four appearances for Pirates across all competitions, all from the substitutes’ bench. He has also struggled to secure regular opportunities despite leading striker Evidence Makgopa being injured.

There have been concerns that Pedersen could follow the path of Souaibou Marou, Jean-Marc Makusu and Kwame Pepra, who arrived at Pirates with high expectations but left after failing to fulfil their potential.

Sebola, who played for Pirates in the mid-90s, believes the club saw long-term potential in Pedersen and that the striker will improve once he becomes accustomed to his team-mates and South African football.

“When they signed him, they saw the future. It’s a matter of time and given a chance to know his teammates I think he will make it,” Sebola said.

“The boy will rise to the occasion. He is not a bad player. He will give competition to the other strikers that have been there. Now people are crying too much about [Yanela] Mbuthuma’s performance, he is on and off.

“Let’s give him time, it is not easy to come from where he was to acclimatise. He is not like Brayan Leon at [Mamelodi] Sundowns, there it’s a different team altogether.”

Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has previously said Pedersen was not yet at 100% match fitness when he arrived at the club. Sebola also said the forward must be introduced gradually.

“They must introduce him gradually, one thing for sure… he is going to deliver. He is hungry, you can see the movement, [but] does he get the supply?” he said.

“The only thing that worries me much is that a lot of players are coming back from injury now and it is a matter of being patient. I followed him before he came to Pirates and I’m quite sure we will see the difference.”

Sebola added that Pedersen was still adapting to “the kind of football we play in SA” and had not played enough matches to be assessed fairly.

Pirates’ recent foreign-striker struggles

Bienvenu Eva Nga returned to Chippa, the club he joined Pirates from, after scoring one goal in 17 appearances between June 2022 and January 2024.

Jean-Marc Makusu arrived on loan from AS Vita in November 2020 with a reputation as a lethal goalscorer, but poor fitness and difficulties adapting limited him to one goal in eight appearances.

Souaibou Marou, who had been included in Cameroon’s 2022 Fifa World Cup squad, left Pirates in 2024 without scoring in nine appearances.

Kwame Peprah joined from Ghana’s King Faisal in 2021 before being loaned to Maritzburg United, where he also failed to make a significant impact.