DYNAMOS Football Club say they have failed to make any headway in their efforts to tie down Devon Chafa and Simba Sithole to new deals because their agent is demanding fees which they cannot afford.
TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA SPORTS CORRESPONDENT Chafa and Sithole are managed by Gibson Mahachi.
Dynamos secretary Webster Chikengezha said yesterday they had tried in vain to convince the players’ agent that their budget was too tight to pay “exorbitant” figures.
The league champions have seen their sponsorship package from BancABC, which stood at $700 000 last season for player and technical salaries, whittled down by an estimated 43%.
Chikengezha, however, stressed the players – in particular Chafa – were very good and that any team would want to sign them but were failing to tie them down because of high fees pegged by Mahachi.
“We have not made any progress up to now. We have failed to agree on the amounts to be paid for the players. We have tabled the figures to them of what we can afford, but they are insisting that we should pay much higher than that. But we are saying we were given a budget by our sponsor and we can’t afford what they are demanding.
“But we want these players. Chafa is a very good player by any standard and we don’t have any problem with his signing-on fee and salary, but there is an additional loan fee which we are supposed to pay to DC Academy and this is the major sticking point because we don’t have that kind of money.
“If we were to sign them, what it means is that we will start the season owing these players because right now it’s off-season and there is no other means of generating revenue unless we get another sponsor.
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“They are just failing to understand our position. It’s not that we don’t want to sign the players, but this is our situation,” Chikengezha said.
Chafa was last season offered a $20 000 signing-on fee by FC Platinum when they were still under Lloyd Mutasa, but turned down the offer to stay with the league champions.
The Dynamos secretary said they had, however, agreed with Russell Madamombe on the figures, but are yet to put things in writing.
“With Russell Madamombe we have agreed figures and everything else, but are yet to sign. As for Rodreck Mutuma and Tafadzwa Rusike we still have not made any progress,” he said.
Mutuma and Rusike are managed by Edzai Kasinauyo.
Pressed further whether they have given up any hope, he said if the players’ agent insists on those figures there was nothing they could do as they cannot afford them.
Dynamos have, however, made some additions to their squad after signing defender Obey Mwerahari from ZPC Kariba, Godknows Murwira and are also understood to be tracking down Chicken Inn defensive midfielder Danny Phiri.
Mwerahari though has a running contract with ZPC and is yet to be cleared by the Electricity Men, as is another target Dominic Chungwa, who is tied to Caps United until the end of this season.
Kelvin Bulaji has joined from the Green Machine.
Phiri is, however, set for trials in South Africa next week with Free State Stars and is tied to Chicken Inn until December 31, 2017, meaning the league champions have to stump out more for the Warriors midfielder.
