SuperSport to overhaul old squad
Key players on the wrong side of 30
SuperSport United chief executive Stan Matthews has disclosed that at the end of the season Matsatsantsa aim to refresh their squad by bringing in mainly players who are in their 20s. SuperSport squad’s average age may be 27, but the fact that the club’s key players such as midfield maestro Reneilwe Letsholonyane, 36, defenders Clayton Daniels, 34, Morgan Gould, 35, and Bongani Khumalo, 32, among others, are on the wrong side of 30, has prompted Matsatsantsa to think ahead.
“In July we want to invest in three to four young players …to freshen up the squad.
“We look at signing players who are in their 20s because at the moment we’ve got a lot of players who are in their mid30s,” said Matthews.
“We need players from 23 to 28 [years old] … then I think our squad would be balanced. “We still have a lot of promising players who have not played a lot this season, the likes of Sipho Mbule, 20, and Kamohelo Mahlatsi, 22. They are part of our future plan.’’ Matsatsantsa’s boss also emphasised that buying new players does not mean they won’t be looking at promoting some promising talent from their MultiChoice Diski Challenge (MDC) team.
“We have not forgotten about the MDC. SuperSport have always believed in developing its own players. There are a number of players in our reserve side that we are monitoring. But we do not want to put them under pressure by naming them.” Interestingly, Gould, Letsholonyane and Khumalo will see their contracts expire at the end of the season.
It remains to be seen if Matsatsantsa will retain them, amid the impending squad restructuring. Daniels’ deal runs until June 2020.