Castro to dictate for Amakhosi, viva viva!
Chiefs get the jump on their rivals with signing from Downs
● Kaizer Chiefs’s atrocious scoring record this season demanded that they do something to shore up their attack.
Amakhosi responded yesterday morning by signing their long-time target, Colombian and Mamelodi Sundowns striker Leonardo Castro.
Both Chiefs and Sundowns confirmed the deal on their social media websites, saying 28-year-old Castro will officially move to Naturena next month.
A Sundowns official who did not want to be named said the team will get some form of compensation for Castro because his contract was going to be up in June.
Castro would have been eligible to start negotiations with any club in January but with Chiefs getting him early, it means they will have to pick up the tab for his salary and the remaining six months at Downs.
The week which ended with some positive news for Amakhosi fans had started on a gloomy note with coach Steve Komphela and football manager Bobby Motaung not committing to anything on the club’s targets in January.
But with Amakhosi having managed a paltry 12 goals in 14 league matches ahead of their match against Ajax Cape Town in Durban last night, something had to give, and quickly.
“We always look to strengthen the team and I’m hopeful we will do justice to that,” is how Komphela responded before Castro’s deal was sealed later in the week.
The Colombian was part of the muchvaunted “CBD” — Castro‚ Khama Billiat and Keagan Dolly — triumvirate who were highly influential in Sundowns winning the Absa Premiership title in 2016/17.
Castro’s signing will bring a sigh of relief to Komphela, who has failed to bring in a single major trophy in two-and-a-half seasons of his three-year contract at the Glamour Boys. What would worry Komphela, though, is Castro’s match fitness as he was hardly used by the Brazilians this season.
During his reign Komphela has brought in and found a number of now-discarded strikers including Lewis Macha, Bongani Ndulula, Siphelele Mthembu and Michelle Katsvairo.
Attacking midfielder Keagan Buchanan, another player signed by Komphela, appears to be on his way out.
Buchanan, who was signed from Bloemfontein Celtic at the beginning of the 2016/17 season, has been linked with Maritzburg United.
His move to Maritzburg could provide some hope to the Amakhosi faithful that they might eventually land Evans Rusike, the Zimbabwean striker who has scored four league goals for his club this season.
Another player linked with Amakhosi is Bidvest Wits winger Vincent Pule, whose contract ends in June and will, like Castro, be available next month for talks with whoever needs his signature.
Pule’s suggested price tag of R1.6-million might scare off Amakhosi but their good relationship with his manager, Tim Sukazi, might swing things their way. It is not clear, though, how a wing player as good on the ball as Pule might solve Amakhosi’s chief problem of scoring goals.