Losing captain no big deal for Benni
BENNI McCarthy says Cape Town City do not have to enter the transfer market for a replacement for captain Robyn Johannes‚ who is going to Bidvest Wits next season.
They already have one in Kwanda Mngonyama‚ who joined the club from Sundowns in a swap deal with Yannick Zakri and Aubrey Ngoma in the January transfer window.
“I think he’s fantastic‚” enthused McCarthy.
“He’s young‚ he just hasn’t been very lucky at Sundowns and been out for quite a long while.
“We have looked to bring him along gradually‚ getting him up to speed with the pace of the game.
“He’s a young player who applies himself incredibly well‚ he’s aggressive.
“He doesn’t have the experience of Robyn but you can see he’s got age on his side‚ he’s got fresher legs and he brings that aggression.
“Hey‚ he can also play! So‚ with time he can only get better. He is going to have a full pre-season before the next campaign which can only stand him in good stead.
“In my mind‚ he is the player who can replaced Robyn and form a nice defensive partnership with Taariq Fielies‚” the coach added. “They are both two big strong players. We’ll see.”
Mngonyama‚ 24‚ was the property of Sundowns for a long time but never played for the club‚ instead having spells on loan at Wits and Maritzburg United. The 31-year-old Johannes signed a pre-contract with Wits in January and is headed on a two-year deal back to Gauteng.
He has previously played at Sundowns‚ Pirates‚ Golden Arrows‚ Maritzburg United and AmaZulu.
Johannes misses out on City’s last match of the season against AmaZulu in Durban on May 12 because of suspension‚ meaning Fillies and Mngonyama can begin their new partnership earlier than planned.