Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune says he would never even consider leaving the club for a rival team in the Premiership.

The Bafana Bafana shot stopper was recently in England undergoing trials with Championship outfit Crystal Palace, but he returned to training in South Africa last week following a lengthy spell out with injury and illness.

However, his immediate future is now set in Naturena after he penned a new three year deal with the Soweto giants.

"I am happy to have extended my stay with the team. I grew up here and I never saw myself starting a new life in another local team," he told the club's official website.

"It is good for other players to do this but for me if I leave Chiefs then it would be for Europe with the blessings of the club.

"I share the culture of the club which is to win trophies. I am forever grateful to my previous coaches at development (level) who saw something in me when I came through as a youngster for trials.

"The current technical team has also contributed a lot to my growth both as a player and the person. I know that I can still improve in all aspects of my game and there is still a lot to win with the Club. I want to be part of this."

Khune joined up with the rest of his Chiefs team-mates for the first time this week to undergo full training ahead of the February 15 encounter against Jomo Cosmos.

"I have been working very hard taking into consideration that the first time I trained was before the Bafana Bafana game back in October. I have been pushing myself in training and you can ask Goalkeeper Coach Rainer Dinkelacker I have been working really hard," he added.

"It is my ambition to win back the No.1 jersey both at Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana. Take nothing from Arthur Bartman who has been doing very well for us. It will be up to the coach to decide on who plays.

"If Arthur gets the nod, I will support him he has always done that to me. We also have Thela (Ngobeni) and Metsi (Kabelo Metsimetsi) who have been pushing us hard in training."