USUTHU TO EXERCISE MAJORO OPTION?

Lehlohonolo Majoro’s contract with AmaZulu FC is set to expire at the end of the season, but it looks as though the player will stay with Usuthu beyond the current campaign.

The former Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates striker, who is having a good season with the KZN outfit, is in the last few months of his contract, which he signed in 2019 after leaving Bidvest Wits. There is an option to renew and, looking at the form he is in at the moment, Usuthu look set to exercise it.

The 34-year-old from Ladybrand in the Free State has scored six goals in all competitions and has said that he does not see why Usuthu would not exercise the option they have on his contract.

“Yes, my contract finishes this season, but I still have an option with the club and I don’t see why it won’t be renewed, but it’s something that I don’t stress myself about because a contract is not negotiated in the boardroom. A contract is negotiated on the field of play, so if I continue doing what I do, then I don’t have to stress about the contract,” the experienced campaigner told the Siya crew.

Majoro, who has also played for Cape Town City in his career, has been one of coach Benni McCarthy’s key men in the side, playing most of the matches ahead of fellow striker Bongi Ntuli.

Ntuli has been linked with a move to Soweto giants Pirates.

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TS Galaxy chairman Tim Sukazi has hinted that they could look into keeping one of their experienced players, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, post-retirement.

BENNI MAKES TOUGH CALL ON CLUB SKIPPER

The Siya crew understands that the decision to leave Siyabonga Mbatha out of AmaZulu FC’s trip to Limpopo may very well be an indication that he is not part of Benni McCarthy’s plans going forward.

28 FEBRUARY 2021 NEDBANK CUP QUARTER-FINAL FIXTURES CONFIRMED!

The fixtures for the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals were determined on Sunday evening, though Mamelodi Sundowns and Polokwane City are yet to face off in their round of 16 clash.

CHIEFS IN TALKS TO SIGN SWALLOWS STAR

The Siya crew can reveal that Kaizer Chiefs are in talks with Swallows FC for their star defender Njabulo Ngcobo and are prepared to offer money and players to ensure the deal goes over the line when their FIFA ban is lifted.

27 FEBRUARY 2021 BREAKING: PSL STAR INVOLVED IN CAR ACCIDENT

News reaching the Siya crew is that Golden Arrows star, Divine Lunga, was involved in a car accident which left his vehicle badly damaged.

MOTSEPE CONFIRMS DOWNS SUCCESSOR IF HE WINS CAF

Mamelodi Sundowns boss Patrice Motsepe has confirmed that his “son” would take over at the club if he were to be elected as CAF president. Siya sources have indicated he was referring to Thlopane Motsepe, who shares his middle name.

26 FEBRUARY 2021 ANOTHER MULTIMILLION-RAND CLAIM AGAINST CELTIC?

News reaching the Siya crew is that Bloemfontein Celtic could be faced with another multimillion-rand claim from a disgruntled employee, as off-the-field issues seem to be causing more drama at the Mangaung club.

CHIEFS TO PUT BILLIAT ON THE MARKET

Kaizer Chiefs are ready to listen to offers for Khama Billiat, whose contract is up for renewal in the coming months, the Siya crew has been told.

25 FEBRUARY 2021 GERRARD CONFIRMS ZUNGU UPDATE AFTER APOLOGY

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has confirmed that Bongani Zungu has returned to the first-team squad after his apology for breaching COVID-19 protocols.

24 FEBRUARY 2021 CONFIRMED: CHIEFS FIXTURE POSTPONED

Kaizer Chiefs’ scheduled DStv Premiership match against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila FC has been postponed, as confirmed by the League.

23 FEBRUARY 2021 AGENT PROVIDES LATEST ON ZWANE’S DOWNS FUTURE

The agent of Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Themba Zwane has provided an update on the player’s future with the club, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.

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The untold story

News of Zungu’s COVID19 protocol breach broke two weeks ago, with Gerrard confirming that five Rangers players had breached Coronavirus rules.

The culprits – Zungu, Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey, Dapo Mebude (out on loan) and Brian Kinnear – were immediately removed from training with the team and forced to self-isolate.

In the UK, reports claimed that police had handed out fines to 10 people who attended a house party in Glasgow on Valentine’s Day.

But according to Siya sources, Zungu, who admitted to having been at the house earlier, did not attend a party and was not fined by the police.

There are suggestions that a picture of the Bafana star circulating in Scottish media that he came into contact with everyone else at the “party” was an old photograph and clearly shows a Christmas tree in the background.

Zungu has suffered a lot of criticism in Glasgow due to him not being a regular despite his much anticipated arrival late last year.

Zungu has since returned to training and was part of the club’s round of 32 Europa League home fixture against Belgian side Royal Antwerp a week after Rangers asked him and his teammates to quarantine.

Three of the five players who breached COVID-19 rules also issued an apology and Zungu was included in that trio – the South African returning to make an eightminute cameo appearance in the 5-2 win over Antwerp last week.

While his steps will be watched more closely by Rangers following the incident, it’s understood that the player has put it all behind him and wants to impress Gerrard with the hope and belief that his stint in Scotland can turn permanent.

Amiens in a corner to sell

In January last year, the French outfit agreed to a deal with their Spanish counterparts Mallorca for Zungu to join them on loan until the endoftheseasonwithanoption to buy him outright.

But, as the Siya crew reported at the time, the potential transfer collapsed on deadline day. At the time, Zungu would have been in a position to sign a pre-contract elsewhere in a year’s time given that his initial contract was coming to an end in June 2021 and Amiens were clearly keen to cash in.

Then Rangers entered the fray.

With the Coronavirus and relegation, Amiens had to make sure they balanced their books, so losing a player of Zungu’s profile on a free was non-negotiable. The tricky part, however, was the transfer fee to Scotland.

Zungu had travelled back home to South Africa after it was announced that Ligue 1 would be temporarily suspended, and later cancelled, with Amiens hellbent on contesting their relegation from the topflight.

Their unsuccessful bid to have the courts overturn the decision to send them to the lower division put pressure on the club to find a solution for Zungu, especially after the technical team told the media at the time that the player was not in their plans due to uncertainty around his future.

Amiens put an initial R77 million price tag on Zungu, with Rangers expressing a desire to get the deal over the line.

But the pandemic hurt them financially, as with most clubs around the world, hence the move was negotiated on a loan basis.

The Siya crew understands that the two clubs are still in talks for Rangers to trigger their option to buy Zungu outright, though indications are that the figure could be revised to a lower sum of R58 million.

And the Scottish giants will know that they have Amiens pinned and in a corner because Zungu has to be sold at the end of the season - or in January next year at the very latest – the alternative is a catastrophe, the player will leave for free!

In such a case, Rangers can even be bold and demand the amount be reduced even further, but with interest in Zungu in other parts of Europe, that would be a risk.

Is a return to SA an option?

Amiens were paying Zungu handsomely.

According to reports in local media detailing the wage earners in Ligue1 last year, the Bafana midfielder was on an annual salary of around R12 million – only six other players were paid more by the club.

Amiens did confirm its process to cut salaries by 16% in the early onset of the Coronavirus outbreak, and their relegation to Ligue 2 sank them even deeper into financial misery given that they were losing out on the TV rights deal and the other financial perks that come with being in the topflight.

As the Siya crew has previously reported, part of the delay in Zungu’s move to Scotland was because of the transfer fee and personal terms.

A salary bump would have been negotiated for Zungu as he moved from the lower division in France to the Scottish Premier League, where the highest earner at his new club last season was goalkeeper Fraser Foster.

Although his annual salary, a reported R77 million, was probably subsided by his parent club Southampton in the English Premier League, as he was on loan, it still placed him as the highest earner.

While there’s no doubt that Premier Soccer League clubs in Mzansi would jump at any opportunity to have a player of Zungu’s calibre in their DStv Premiership squads, it’s clear that he would not come cheap – perhaps only putting him in the radar of his former club Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

Given the salary scales in Mzansi, those are the clubs that could offer the highest packages, though still somewhat off the figures in Europe.

Indications are that the best-paid players in the PSL earn a little over R7 million per annum, and in some instances, that includes bonuses and endorsements.

Following his move to Rangers, it is thought that Zungu did earn himself a slight pay rise, and with interest elsewhere in Europe, it means that you can expect to see him in Europe for a while longer.

Don’t rule out Pitso reunion

Siya sources have informed the crew that Zungu has no intention, for now, to leave Europe. He is determined to make the most of his time on the continent and reap the financial rewards that come with plying his trade in Europe.

But you can never rule out the possibility of returning to the African continent, especially with his former coach Pitso Mosimane now at Al Ahly.

If there’s any club on the continent that can match his reported salary, it’s the Egyptian giants, who’ve got a track record of luring high-profile names even from the English Premier League.

Mosimane, during his stint at Sundowns, always made it clear that he would take back any of his ex-players who left the club to go abroad because they would add quality to his squad.

Ahly have a stature that’s even bigger than that of Sundowns and Mosimane would be instrumental in any talks to bring back a South African player, especially one he rates as highly as Zungu.

Should the player consider a return to the African continent, and still want a bigmoney package as well as playing at the highest level, Ahly fit the profile.