Doughty Sameehg’s back home to lift Ari’s ambitious Ajax and Zambian Funga signs up

AJAX CAPE TOWN’S desire to strengthen their squad ahead of a challenging second half of the PSL season continued in earnest when Sameehg Doutie returned to the club yesterday.

Earlier this week, Ajax added highly-rated Zambian attacking midfielder Aubrey Funga to the squad and, yesterday, 27-year-old Capetonian Doutie put pen to paper for his second spell at the team where he came to prominence as a junior.

Doutie, started at Ajax as a raw but exceptionally talented nineyear-old and rose through the ranks, all the way to the PSL squad.

He then had spells at Orlando Pirates, SuperSport United and Wits before signing for Indian Super League (ISL) side Atlético de Kolkata in 2015.

The winger has signed for Ajax until the end of the season, after which he will again assess his options.

“Sameehg was brought up at the club since the age of nine, so he is an Ajax academy graduate,” said Ajax chief executive Ari Efstathiou.

“He left the club at the age of 21 to pursue his career with Pirates, and he also went to SuperSport and Wits.

“He has since had two fan- tastic seasons in the Indian Super League.

“He has committed himself to the club to assist us for the next five months.

“It is going to be a shortterm contract, but you never know what happens after that, maybe he enjoys it and stays. But his dream is to play in Europe and we don’t want to hinder his plans.

“Sameehg is another attacking player who joins the club. We also have Rodrick Kabwe and Aubrey Funga.”

Ajax, after a poor start to the season, are in a more comfortable ninth position on the PSL standings and hoping that Doutie’s enthusiasm and effervescence on the ball can inspire a move further up the log.

Ajax swing back into PSL action on February 7 when they are away to Bidvest Wits in Johannesburg.