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Musona to end Anderlecht nightmare

Sport
ZIMBABWE senior national football team captain Knowledge Musona is set to end his nightmarish stint with Belgian Pro league giants Anderlecht amid reports that he will soon seal a permanent transfer deal to KAS Eupen where he was on loan in the just-ended season.

ZIMBABWE senior national football team captain Knowledge Musona is set to end his nightmarish stint with Belgian Pro league giants Anderlecht amid reports that he will soon seal a permanent transfer deal to KAS Eupen where he was on loan in the just-ended season.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

Reports from Belgium yesterday suggested that KAS Eupen were keen to retain Musona’s services on a permanent basis after an impressive performance since securing a loan switch from Anderlecht in the January transfer window. The breakthrough came after he had struggled for game time.

Since his move to the record 34-time Belgian league champions in July 2018, the 29-year-old endured a frustrating spell, making only eight appearances and scoring just one goal. This season, Musona was restricted to one reserve team appearance for the side, culminating in a loan switch to KAS Eupen during the January transfer window as the Zimbabwean international sought game time.

By the time world sport was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic, he had already flourished at KAS Eupen — scoring two goals in six starts which appears to have convinced the Belgian side to consider a permanent deal for him.

The Warriors forward is contracted to Anderlecht until July 2022, but having been reportedly transfer-listed with the club making clear their plan to trim playing staff, KAS Eupen — who firmly believe the Zimbabwean could be the torch bearer of their attack — are expecting a positive response.

The former Hoffenheim and Augsburg attacker had also been previously loaned to Lokeren, having been at Oostende where he had made his name in the Belgian league after a move from the Absa Premiership where he starred for Kaizer Chiefs.

He has been a reported target for Mamelodi Sundowns in recent months, but that now seems unlikely as he appears set to stay in Europe.

Musona was Absa Premiership’s top goalscorer in 2011, leading to a lucrative move to the Bundesliga. But he failed to get game time at TSG Hoffenheim and spent time on loan at FC Augsburg and then at Chiefs.

However, the recent development where The Smilling Assassin, as he is affectionately known in football circles, will secure a permanent move to KAS Eupen, should excite Zimbabwean fans as he has been the face of the Warriors — the team he has led to two successive African Cup of Nations finals.

He has been linked with a move back to Chiefs but it was recently reported that his huge wage demand could scupper the deal.

Musona was reported to be one of the best paid players at Anderlecht, yet since his arrival, his talent has not been appreciated by the club.