REVEALED: Chiefs deal for PSL star collapsed ‘last minute’

Towards the end of last year, it was rumoured that Chiefs were very interested in talented Mduduzi Mdantsane, who is apparently valued at around R18 million by Cape Town City.

Whether or not that figure is accurate remains unclear, but Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler has suggested the club had virtually accepted they would be losing the talented player until the deal unexpectedly fell through.

“The little that I know, it was very, very close. It was literally last minute that Kaizer Chiefs opted not to go through with the deal,” Tinkler told Marawa Sports Worldwide, as quoted by FARPost. “But I don’t know the exact details behind that. A player himself had already been informed. I also knew about it myself. I also knew about [Sekhukhune United].

“Those clubs Chiefs, Pirates, and Sundowns, those are obviously targets for the players to go,” Tinkler added. “Those clubs can pay the players quite a substantial amount of money to sustain themselves, so I’ll never stand in a way of that happening.

“Obviously, you don’t wanna be losing some of your best players, but I’ve accepted that. I’ve always believed that there will be another Mdantsane out there that we will find.”

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Mdantsane hasn’t enjoyed the finest start to the season, but the thought process was that he could add some much needed quality to the Chiefs’ attacking midfielder depth.

According to KickOff.com, Chiefs reignited interested in Mdantsane late on in the transfer window, while Sekhukhune were also reportedly very interested, but both clubs were apparently unable to meet the transfer fee demanded.

“Both Kaizer Chiefs and Sekhukhune were keen to sign the player last night (31 January),” a source told KickOff. “Sekhukhune tried everything possible, but unfortunately, the deal still didn’t go through.”

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It’s further reported in the latest edition of Soccer Laduma that Cape Town City are set to exercise Mdantsane’s one-year contract option, and it seems Chiefs are unlikely to successfully secure his services when his original deal ends after June this year.

Chiefs would have to negotiate a transfer fee if they were serious about trying to land the signature of the 28-year-old, but the odds are seemingly not in their favour.

CHIEFS HAD A RELATIVELY QUIET JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW

In the second of two big announcements last month, Chiefs confirmed the signing of a pre-contract in securing the acquisition of left-sided centre-back, Thatayaone Ditlhokwe, from SuperSport United, who will soon join recent Amakhosi debutant Christian Saile Basomboli at Naturena.

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