Luke Baartman: Rising Star of Kaizer Chiefs in PSL
Luke Baartman is suddenly the noise around Naturena. Not a whisper. A roar.
The 20-year-old forward has burst into the new 2026/27 Premier Soccer League season with the kind of form that forces a club to rethink its plans. On Wednesday night at FNB Stadium, he underlined that rise again, scoring his first goal of the campaign in Kaizer Chiefs’ clinical 2-0 victory over Sekhukhune United.
For a player who managed just seven appearances in his debut season with the Glamour Boys, the contrast could hardly be sharper. Then, he was a prospect. Now, he looks like a project with a clear blueprint.
Reinventing a No. 9
Baartman arrived at Chiefs tagged as a traditional number nine, the kind of striker who lives between the posts and inside the box. Fernando Da Cruz has torn up that label.
The Frenchman has pushed Baartman into different attacking roles and wider areas, and the experiment is paying off.
“Modern football now requires players who are able to play in many positions,” Da Cruz said, speaking to FARPost.
“For a young player like Luke Baartman, it’s important to give him different tools to be able to play in different positions.
“The most important thing for him is to read the game, for example, knowing what to do when he receives the ball in different situations of the game.”
This is not tinkering for its own sake. Chiefs’ coaching staff saw the first real signs of Baartman’s versatility during the club’s high-profile pre-season tour of Spain. Against European opposition, they watched a player who could do far more than simply finish chances. His movement outside the box, his link-up play, his willingness to press – all of it hinted at a more complete forward.
The tour convinced them. The league is now seeing the result.
Talent, temperament, and timing
Da Cruz likes what Baartman can do with the ball. He seems to like what’s going on in the youngster’s head even more.
“It’s a player with good technical qualities and also a player with good explosiveness when he plays football,” the coach noted.
“He is a young player and, for the moment, he listens to what the coaches ask of him, which is very important to me.
“The most important thing for young players is to listen to what the coach wants, because sometimes young players think that they are experienced.
“But Luke is very focused and knows what the coach expects from him.”
In an era where early hype can swallow young careers whole, that last line matters. Chiefs believe Baartman’s humility and appetite to learn are the foundations that will keep his current surge from becoming a brief spike.
He is not just running into form. He is being coached into it.
Walking the tightrope of a long season
The excitement around Baartman is real, but so is the caution.
Chiefs are staring at a brutal calendar: Premier Soccer League, CAF Confederation Cup, Carling Knockout, Nedbank Cup. Matches stack up, travel drains the legs, and a 20-year-old body can only carry so much, no matter how explosive.
Inside Naturena, the medical and technical teams are already planning how to protect their emerging star from burnout. The temptation to ride his form every week is obvious. Da Cruz knows that road too well.
“As an experienced coach, I know that I cannot ask Luke to perform at a high level throughout the whole season,” the Amakhosi mentor admitted.
“Sometimes he will need to recover, so we need to support him at different times of the season.”
So Chiefs find themselves in a delicate place: a fan base falling in love with a new hero, a coach reshaping him into a modern attacker, and a fixture list that will test every muscle and every decision.
If they get that balance right, Baartman’s name won’t just be on supporters’ lips this month. It could define their season.
