The story behind the scenes
What the club says…
SuperSport’s position, in the public eye at least, is that neither they nor the two players’ camp will make any movements until after the Olympics.
In a recent interview with the Siya crew, Stan Matthews, the SSU chief executive officer, explained in great detail what the international clause in both Mokoena and Mbule’s contracts means in the midst of all the speculation.
He did hint that selling them to their Premier Soccer League counterparts hasn’t been completely rule out!
“We added the international clause as a way of showing we want to see the players pursue their European dream like Kamohelo Mokotjo and Kermit Erasmus, two players who were part of the club’s academy and went abroad,” Matthews said last month.
“There’s no doubt that these two players, and there are others coming up as well, have the potential to play at the highest level. But should things change, it is not to say the club will stand in their way if there are other opportunities,” he added.
Mokoena’s German interest is believed to have come up a few months before SSU offered the midfielder a new contract, and could have influenced the decision to add the international clause on Mbule’s agreement too.
“What we are saying with the international buy-out clause is that the club has confidence and belief that these players can make it abroad,” said Matthews.
“But Aubrey Modiba also had an international clause, but we ended up selling him to Sundowns after four years with us. When we signed him from Cape Town City, his goal was to go overseas, but a local club was able to meet the buy-out clause and the player was happy to move to Sundowns. We still have the Olympics to come, so that is a huge opportunity for Mokoena and Mbule, but it is possible that their plans can go in a different direction.”
The duo arrived at SSU nearly five years ago, with Stuart Baxter first giving Mokoena a taste of senior team football, before Mbule was also promoted a year later.
In that time, they have both made great strides, albeit at different stages, and staying at one club this long when there’s Big Three interest and talk of going abroad will eventually turn their heads.
SSU are well aware of this. It’s happened before!
Brockie: They shouldn’t settle
One player who knows all about the distraction that comes with being the subject of interest from rival clubs while at SuperSport is Jer- emy Brockie, who, after what seemed an endless pursuit, finally joined Sundowns in 2018.
Now playing in the Australian second tier for Bentleigh Greens, having left Chloorkop last year after his contract was not extended, the 33-year-old weighed in on what should be a priority for his ex-SSU teammates.
“I played with Tebza and Sipho while I was at SuperSport and, at that time, they were two young bright talents coming through the ranks and I could see the quality that they had – boys that were always trying to work hard to try improve,” Brockie told the Siya crew.
“They are sort of the foundation of the club in the starting XI now and they are two different types of players. When you have interest locally, it is always enticing, obviously, but there’s an opportunity to play on the world stage at the Olympics with plenty of scouts watching them,” he added.
The striker’s advice is for them to wait to move to Europe even if there are no offers when they return from Tokyo.
“I’d like to think both of them have dreams to play overseas and follow in the footsteps of someone like Percy Tau (in England) rather than settling for a local move. I think they are both better than moving locally and I feel with the quality they possess, they can make it on the world stage,” explained Brockie.
“I feel that’s not only better for them as individuals, but it’s better for the country and for the national team going forward. In my opinion, I would steer clear of moving locally and stay at SuperSport where I am playing week in and week out, with the idea of making a dream overseas move,” concluded the striker.
Mooted club sale will be a factor…
Despite denials from SuperSport that the club could be up for sale and a further statement from chairman Khulu Sibiya, the football fraternity continues to discuss the possibility of such a move.
Should it happen, this would perhaps speed up the process of selling Mokoena and Mbule as key assets, similarly to how Highlands Park and Bidvest Wits cashed in on their high-profile names before their respective PSL statuses were purchased.
Those two clubs issued strong and frequent denials rubbishing reports that they would be sold, only to later confirm all of it!
Sundowns were the biggest beneficiaries of that outcome, having lured two players from Highlands to Chloorkop as well as three from Wits.
If SSU also go this route, expect the Brazilians to step up their interest in Mokoena and Mbule, while Chiefs and their Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates will possibly get in on the act, too, given the quality of the players.