TSHWANE — Mamelodi Sundowns’ foreign quota will be shaken up yet again during the winter break with the Ghana duo of Mumuni Abubakar and Emmanuel Baffour expected to be discarded in favour of two of their fellow countrymen Rashid Sumaila and Mahatma Otoo.
Report by Kick Off
Sumaila, a centre-back, has already signed a five-year deal while Sundowns has also already put in an official offer for Hearts of Oak striker Otoo, who is also being linked with a move to Sunderland and Olympique Lyon which, however, appears a mere bait to earn more from The Brazilians.
Otoo is the captain at Hearts and the leading scorer in Ghana with 11 goals, but strangely though Sundowns have put in a bid believed to be in the region of R3-million. Reports claim the 21-year-old will actually be free in June, leaving him able to move without any money exchanging hands between the two clubs.
Also already signed by Downs is Belgian goalkeeper Glenn Verbauwhede (27) who is already training with Sundowns ahead of next season.
With the confirmed capture of two new foreign players and the imminent signing of a third, the writing is already on the wall for Abubakar and Baffour to make way though yet a third place could be opened up if Mozambican winger Elias Pelembe acquires his permanent residency permit that he is now eligible for after spending five years in South Africa.
Two other foreign spots could still open up if Nyasha Mushekwi’s pending move to Europe does eventually happen while the contract renewal of fellow Zimbabwean Method Mwanjali is still unsettled as a dark cloud continues to hang over his head in the Asiagate match-fixing scandal for which he is still banned for life by Zifa.
Interestingly for Sundowns, with the confirmed signing of Sumaila and Verbauwhede, the club will now have 11 non-South Africa-born players in their books going into the off-season.
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The list has Mushekwi, Mwanjali, Pelembe, Abubakar and Baffour taking up the allocated five foreign spaces plus Denis Onyango, Anthony Laffor, Esrom Nyandoro and Alje Schut who all hold permanent residency allowing them to be registered as non-foreigners plus the new signings Sumaila and Verbauwhede.
