Luke Baartman: Rising Star of Kaizer Chiefs

Luke Baartman is fast becoming the new obsession at Naturena.

The 20-year-old forward, once tagged as a classic penalty-box number nine, has exploded into the 2026/27 Premier Soccer League campaign with a different edge and a different role. On Wednesday night at FNB Stadium, he underlined that transformation, scoring his first goal of the season in Kaizer Chiefs’ sharp 2-0 win over Sekhukhune United.

For those who remember his hesitant first year in gold and black, the contrast is striking. Back then, Baartman managed just seven appearances, a promising youngster parked mostly on the fringes. Now he looks like a player reborn.

From fixed No.9 to modern attacker

The shift started with Fernando Da Cruz. The Frenchman took one look at Baartman’s profile and refused to keep him chained to the centre of the box.

“Modern football now requires players who are able to play in many positions,” Da Cruz told FARPost, laying bare the thinking behind the change.

For Baartman, that has meant learning to drift wide, drop deeper, and attack spaces rather than simply waiting for crosses. It has meant homework.

“For a young player like Luke Baartman, it’s important to give him different tools to be able to play in different positions,” the coach explained. “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.”

The turning point came long before Sekhukhune, long before the PSL even kicked off. Chiefs’ high-profile pre-season tour of Spain gave the technical team a clearer picture of what they had on their hands. Against European opposition, Baartman showed he was more than just a finisher sniffing around the six-yard area. He pressed, linked play, stretched defences. He adapted.

They brought that version of Baartman back to South Africa. He has not looked back.

Talent, temperament and a warning

Da Cruz talks about his young forward with the calm of a coach who has seen careers rise and crash.

“It’s a player with good technical qualities and also a player with good explosiveness when he plays football,” he said, highlighting the blend of touch and power that has caught the eye in the early weeks of the season.

But it is not just the feet that impress him.

“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 a few goals and a trending clip can derail a youngster’s focus, Chiefs believe Baartman’s humility and appetite for instruction might be his real superpower. He has the physical tools, yes. The question is how long he can keep marrying that with discipline.

Managing the hype and the body

Inside Naturena, excitement is tempered by caution. Chiefs are staring at a brutal schedule: the Premier Soccer League, CAF Confederation Cup, Carling Knockout, Nedbank Cup. It is a calendar that chews up even seasoned professionals.

The medical and technical teams have already circled Baartman’s name, not just on the teamsheet but on the workload charts. They know the temptation: he’s in form, the crowd loves him, the goals are starting to flow. Play him. Play him again. And again.

Da Cruz is resisting that urge.

“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 walk a fine line. They want to ride the wave of a young striker coming into his own, without drowning him in minutes and expectation.

For now, Baartman is delivering: a goal against Sekhukhune, a new role embraced, a fanbase buzzing. The real test comes when the fixtures pile up, the legs tire, and the pressure spikes.

Will this be the season he simply breaks through—or the one that shapes him into Chiefs’ next long-term talisman?