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NewsDay

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Amini’s Pirates deal still on

Sport
Gunners and Young Warriors leftback Qadr Amini’s move to South Africa’s Absa Premiership giants Orlando Pirates is still on and could be finalised next week. Amin impressed in trials last month and a deal was imminent last month before Pirates boss Irvin Khoza travelled out of the country for business. Yesterday, Gunners boss Cuthbert Chitima […]

Gunners and Young Warriors leftback Qadr Amini’s move to South Africa’s Absa Premiership giants Orlando Pirates is still on and could be finalised next week.

Amin impressed in trials last month and a deal was imminent last month before Pirates boss Irvin Khoza travelled out of the country for business. Yesterday, Gunners boss Cuthbert Chitima said he was due to travel to South Africa next week: “It should be finalised next week as I will be travelling there . . . the deal is still on. The transfer window closes on August 31, so there is still time.”

Should Amin make the cut, he will play in the 2012 edition of the Champions League after featuring for Gunners, the 2009 league champions, last season. Pirates have appointed a new coach, Julio Cesar Leal, who has been assessing his squad in the last two weeks and the squad for the 2011/12 season is likely to be announced after the MTN8 opener against Santos on August 5.

The 1995 Caf Champions League and SuperCup winners also want former Bafana Bafana striker Benni McCarthy for next year’s campaign in the same competition.

Warriors defender Gilbert Mapemba has already joined Moroka Swallows in the cash- rich league, joining another former Caps player Simba Sithole, who moved to Mamelodi Sundowns. Sithole and another former Green Machine midfielder, Lionel Mtizwa, will learn his fate in the club next week. Club spokesperson Alex Shakoane told KickOff.com: “We have not yet decided on which players to keep for the coming season and who to loan out, all our players are involved in the pre-season training.

“We will only sit down with the technical team when the team returns at the end of the tour to decide next week on who will be registered and who will not, probably by Monday next week, when we expect the coach to have decided on his squad.” Meanwhile, Warriors midfielder Justice Majabvi is still searching for a new club after his contract with relegated LASK Linz of the Austrian top-flight league expired at the end of June.

His manager Gibson Mahachi said there was still time to work out a deal since the player is a free agent.

“There are inquiries about the player all over, even from South Africa, but he is a free agent and we will see what comes out,” Mahachi said.

Mahachi is also working flat out to get a deal for Cuthbert Malajila, who has a three-year contract with Club Africain of Tunisia, but is interested in rejoining his former side Dynamos before the transfer window closes on Sunday.

“We need to get a deal from Dynamos first before we can then contact his club in Tunisia and ask them to release him. But we are working on that and I am hopeful that something will come out, maybe by end of day today (yesterday),” Mahachi said.

Malajila has been holed up in Harare for the last two months after fleeing the Libya uprising when he had been loaned out to Al Akdhar for six months.

Having made his name at Chapungu, Malajila joined Highlanders in 2007 in a one-year deal under then coach Methembe Ndlovu before moving to Dynamos the following season. Dynamos coach Lloyd Mutasa has indicated that he desperately needs the player to mount a serious onslaught on the league title.

This Saturday, Dynamos face Motor Action in the last four of the BancABC Sup8r at Rufaro Stadium.