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Musona on the move

Sport
WARRIORS striker Knowledge Musona (pictured) could finally end his Anderlecht nightmare, with reports from Belgium suggesting that he is on his way to another Belgian side Sint-Truiden in the January transfer window.

WARRIORS striker Knowledge Musona (pictured) could finally end his Anderlecht nightmare, with reports from Belgium suggesting that he is on his way to another Belgian side Sint-Truiden in the January transfer window.

BY HENRY MHARA

It is, however, not clear whether it would be a loan deal or a permanent move for the Smiling Assassin, who has endured a terrible time at Anderlecht.

According to a Belgian newspaper, Het Laatste Nieuws, Musona could be involved in a swap deal that will see him and teammate Pieter Gerkens moving to Sint-Truiden, in exchange for Ivorian Yohani Boli.

The newspaper reports that the negotiations were at an advanced stage and a deal could be announced as soon as the January transfer window opens.

“Anderlecht are once again facing a busy transfer period. The purple and white want reinforcements in every department. On the outgoing level, it is mainly some superfluous players who have to be released. Anderlecht are currently working on the arrival of Yohan Boli. The Ivorian striker is in the end of his contract with STVV (Sint-Truiden) after this season and can, therefore, be picked up for free,” the report read.

“It could well be that Pieter Gerkens and Knowledge Musona will make the opposite move in January and move to Sint-Truiden. The two players were already on STVV’s wishlist last summer and could now be involved in a deal around Boli. Final negotiations are ongoing and it looks like Boli will soon be able to call himself an Anderlecht player.”

The 29-year-old Musona has had a career to forget at Anderlecht since signing a four-year contract with the former champions in May 2018.

He made just eight appearances for the club in the first half of last season, starting just in three and scoring once. He was loaned out to fellow league side Lokeren for the remainder of the season and made just six appearances, scoring once.

Musona returned to Anderlecht at the end of last season, hoping to reclaim his place in the team, which was under a new technical team headed by former Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany.

But it failed to work out, with the striker failing to impress the new coaches. He was not registered in the senior first team squad.

He has been training with the club’s Under-21 team ever since, and the move to Sint-Truiden, if it materialises, could offer him a fresh start to his faltering career.

Other reports suggest that Musona is contemplating going back to South Africa where he has been linked to former club Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Despite being inactive for his club, Musona has continued to be called up for Warriors duty and was part of the team that participated at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Egypt early this year.

He missed Zimbabwe’s 2022 Fifa World Cup preliminary matches against Somalia in September due to an injury, but was recalled for the 2021 Afcon qualifying matches last month. He was part of the team that drew 0-0 against Botswana at the National Sports Stadium and then provided the two assists for Khama Billiat as the Warriors beat Zambia 2-1 away to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Zimbabwe are second in the group with four points, two behind Algeria who have a perfect record.