Pitso lured me to Chloorkop, says Lakay

It took Pitso Mosimane’s charm to convince Lyle Lakay to change his mind about joining Bidvest Wits and instead to move to Mamelodi Sundowns two years ago.

Lakay revealed he was close to joining Wits when Mosimane called him and asked if he was keen to move to Chloorkop from Cape Town City.

Part of Mosimane’s deal in luring him to Chloorkop was to convert Lakay to the left-back position, to which he agreed.

“If I remember the conversation well, before I came to Sundowns I was supposed to go to Wits,” Lakay said.

“Wits had an agreement with Cape Town City, the deal was almost done. I remember it was on a Friday night.

“The following day we had a family gathering and I got a call from my agent [Vasili Barbis] to say ‘look, coach Pitso wants to speak to you. He is going to call you’.

“We spoke, he told me he wants me but he wants me to play as a left-back.

“He asked if I had a problem with that and I said no, because in 2014 I came to Sundowns for trials, also in that position. Then he asked me if I was comfortable and I said yes, I am.

“I think every player wants to play for Sundowns because of the success of the team. I knew that if I want to win trophies and be successful, Sundowns are the team.”

The 29-year-old said he didn’t see playing in defence as a setback even though he was used to scoring goals and getting in crosses at his previous teams.

“I think I played once or twice in this position before I came to Sundowns, but if you look at it now, compared to before, I’ve improved a lot. So, at the end of the day, I will say the main thing which has improved in me is my mentality,” Lakay said.

“I didn’t see it as a setback considering the style Sundowns play, they play more with wingbacks instead of natural fullbacks.

“That’s why I agreed to come here; if you look at the style of play we attack more than we defend.”

Lakay said he wants to cement his place at Sundowns, something he didn’t achieve for two years.