Soccer Laduma

Galaxy deal falls through for Ralani?

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expressed interest in his services.

The gangly forward is contracted to Mamelodi Sundowns until June 2025, but after falling down the pecking order among the strikers at Chloorkop and only making two appearance­s off the bench for the defending champions last campaign, he realised that the writing was on the wall.

If his camp had been encouragin­g him to continue pushing and working hard and that eventually his time would come, the arrival of attackers Thapelo Maseko, Lucas Ribeiro and Lesiba Nku must have sounded like a death knell.

The former Baroka FC man stopped training with the Brazilians at the end of the 2022/23 season, instead training on his own while seemingly pushing for an exit. But there appeared to have been no takers.

That is until now, with this publicatio­n informed that two Premiershi­p clubs have shown interest.

Indication­s coming from sources are that both Chippa United and Stellenbos­ch FC are great admirers of Motupa and know his quality.

Though he may be low on confidence at the moment, this has not stopped them chomping at the bit to lure him to their respective camps.

It is not clear at this stage whether Sundowns will grant the player his wish and terminate his contract or will opt to loan him to one of the two clubs.

News that has landed on the Siya crew’s desk suggests that Surprise Ralani was in talks with TS Galaxy for a move, but a deal could not materialis­e.

The dribbling wizard left Mamelodi Sundowns at the end of last season, though strangely, there was no official statement from either the club or the player confirming the news. He had spent 18 months with the side having joined from Cape Town City in 2021, in what was considered a shock move for a player on the wrong side of 30.

The former Helsingbor­gs star has been on the lookout for a club since

his Downs departure. As such, one

of the clubs that are understood to have shown an interest is Galaxy, though this publicatio­n has been informed that the potential move fell off, with insiders unable to give reasons as to what exactly happened.

The Rockets spent big on acquiring the services of former Kaizer Chiefs striker Samir Nurkovic, as well as Thamsanqa Gabuza, and it appears they are happy with their attacking arsenal at the moment.

Contacted for commented on the issue, Galaxy chairman Tim Sukazi denied that there has been any interest in Ralani.

“Nope,” Sukazi told Soccer Laduma, matter-of-factly. “We did not have discussion­s with him.”

As a free agent, the Kimberleyb­orn man is eligible to join a club outside of the transfer window period. He is on a list of free agents with the likes of Lehlohonol­o Majoro, Ntsikelelo Nyauza, Xola Mlambo, Khama Billiat, Erick Mathoho and Abednigo Mosiatlhag­a.

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