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BROCKIE WILL STICK AROUND

- MINENHLE MKHIZE

SUPERSPORT United want-away forward Jeremy Brockie is likely to feature when they meet Maritzburg United in what is expected to be the mouth-watering encounter at Harry Gwala Stadium on Saturday.

The second leg of the MTN 8 semi-final will kick off at 8.15pm. The sides played to a 1-1 stalemate two weeks back at Lucas Moripe Stadium. The winners will meet either Cape Town City or Bidvest Wits in the final, where the victors will pocket a whopping R8 million.

Brockie has been trending over the past few weeks, and handed in a transfer request after Sundowns made an offer to sign him. Coach Eric Tinkler mentioned after winning the Nedbank Cup Ke Yona Challenge that Brockie is likely to make a comeback for SuperSport United this weekend.

“There are no issues. He is our player and he is committed to the club,” Tinkler explained.

They certainly need Brockie, as he has proved so many times that he is a player for the big occasions.

He has scored goals in big matches, which is why Sundowns were desperate to land him.

Sundowns Coach Pitso Mosimane confirmed they have made offers for Brockie in each and every transfer window.

“We made a formal request on Jeremy and it is not for the first time. Almost every year we make request on Jeremy Brockie and we have been turned down. You have to respect and understand that he is contracted to another team.

“If he is not coming you have to move on. So we will see with time. They might not work at another time. That’s why some players say ‘I’m going because if Barcelona wants me now and I’m not going to join them now, they will find some- body else and they might not come back to me,” Mosimane explained.

SuperSport United’s COO Stanley Matthews is open to Brockie’s move. “It is a profession­al game. I stood by a fouryear commitment on Jeremy. If he got an injury tomorrow and couldn’t play for the next three years I would be paying him on a very nice contract because I committed to it and I’m obligated to it. He is obligated to us, likewise. We will be holding him to his contract. I don’t expect to have any problems with Jeremy. He will deal with the situation that the move didn’t happen this window and he will settle down, work hard and contribute to the club.

“Hopefully that leads to silverware. We will then look at it at the end of the season or even sooner if we have silverware in the cupboard,” Matthews elaborated.

Matthews also dismissed the idea that

Brockie has a buyout clause for local teams.

“He has no clause for local teams but does have one for overseas teams and we have had no overseas offers.

I’m not going to divulge informatio­n of a player’s contract but he has a reasonable buyout clause internatio­nally.

“We give our players internatio­nal buyout clauses but not for the local market,” Matthews explained.

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