Ngcongca keeps mum on future
ANELE Ngcongca has refused to commit his future to Belgian side Genk amid a reported offer for his services from Turkish giants Galatasaray.
The Bafana Bafana right-back is in his seventh season with Genk and although he says he is looking to finish the campaign strongly with them to potentially help the club play European football next season, he might not be around to enjoy it.
“I’ll let you know after this season where my future lies,” Ngcongca told Belgian publication Voetbalkrant. “I am leaving those matters up to my manager, for now I want to do everything I can for Genk.”
It would appear as though he sees his future away from the club and a move to Gala, where he would play alongside Didier Drogba, as well as another Ivorian international in Emmanuel Eboue, Cameroon star Aurélien Chedjou and Netherlands international Wesley Sneijder would be a big step up for him.
He seems to be doing his best to impress any prospective suitors as well having scored his first goal of the season against Ayanda Patosi’s Lokeren at the weekend.
Ngcongca, 26, profited from a mistake by Patosi to score at the back post, but he preferred to talk up the attacking attributes of his compatriot.
“It was my first goal [of the season] and I’m happy with it. My family was there, so then makes it extra special.
“I know Patosi very well, I know what he’s capable of, he has great quality going forward and in an attacking sense.”
A decision on the future of Matthew Pattison will only be made at the end of the season, insisted Bidvest Wits chief executive Jose Ferreira yesterday as speculation over the prospects of the nuggety midfielder heightens.
Wits have an option to add another year to Pattison’s initial two-year deal, which comes to an end on May 31.
“We won’t make any decisions before then and we will see how it works for all parties concerned,” said Ferreira. “Matthew Pattison is one of several players on whom we have an option to extend their contracts and we’ll be making a decision on all of them at the end of the season.”
This also includes the influential midfielder Papy Faty, one of the stalwarts behind Wits’ successful season.
But the situation of the 27-yearold Pattison is different because his wife and young family live in Britain and he is seeking to move closer to them.
He last week underwent surgery on a troublesome knee that is expected to leave him out for the rest of the season.
Johannesburg-born Pattison was brought up in England and played there for Newcastle United and Norwich City before coming back to South Africa to join Mamelodi Sundowns, Santos and then Wits. — Additional reporting from Mark Gleeson