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Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter

HIGHLY-RATED Zimbabwe international forward Tinotenda Kadewere’s stock continues to rise following his move to French Ligue 2 side Le Havre Athletic Club yesterday.

The 22-year-old secured a four-year contract with the French side.

He arrives from Swedish Allsvenskan side Djurgardens IF for £2 million plus bonuses in a move that was hailed by Warriors coach Sunday Chidzambwa.

Former Warriors leftback Harlington Shereni, who spent the better part of his professional career in France, also praised the move.

The Warriors marksman, who has already been picked by Zimbabwe football legend Moses Chunga as a special talent, was being stalked by a number of European clubs.

Kadewere will join a club that used to be home to France and Manchester United star Paul Pogba and Algerian international Riyad Mahrez.

Shereni, who spent three years at En Avant Guingamp, before joining another French club FC Nantes, hailed the move which he feels is the beginning of some exciting times for the young forward.

“It is quite a good club and a lot of footballers have come from there. The club is based in Normandy, which is not a big town so that will give him time to settle,” said Shereni.

“It is not really a small club, but a club which he will enjoy to play for. The French Ligue is one of the big leagues in Europe so this gives him a chance to be seen by the bigger clubs from other leagues. From what I have seen of him, he is a good player and should be able to play well. He has all the time in the world, and age is on his side.’’

Shereni said Kadewere should quickly adjust to the French lifestyle, especially language.

“His football, I am not worried about that, I know what he is capable of and that he can easily adapt, he has shown potential and only he needs to follow what his coaches will say.

“The first thing he has to learn is speaking French very fast. He has to adapt to French life. When I moved to France, I had learnt French in Switzerland so it really helped me.

‘’But he is a young man so this should be easy for him.

“The first few months he needs to learn more of the lifestyle there and also concentrate on his game.’’

Chidzambwa was naturally delighted that one of his young Warriors had moved to a country with a rich football tradition.

“It is good for the country and him. This is a higher level compared to Sweden and, hopefully, he will excel.

“I wish him well. He is a promising player, he is well disciplined, can score goals and take chances. He is also good at assisting others,” he said.

Chidzambwa added that Kadewere is one of the players firmly in his plans for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The coach is keeping his fingers crossed that by the time Zimbabwe play Congo next month, the forward who is nursing an injury, would have recovered.

Before the World Cup break, the former Harare City striker was the leading the goalscoring charts in Sweden with eight goals in 12 appearances.

However, the forward was injured ahead of the resumption of the Swedish league and is likely to miss action for about two months.

Yesterday, some of the Le Harve fans, who have watched the player in action through videos, said they were confident the Zimbabwean will shine.

“If he has the sense of purpose, that is the most important thing for an attacker,’’ said one of the fans.

‘’If he plays hard, then the rest will follow.’’