Nyatama enjoyed a second peak at Pirates between 2017 and 2020. Image: ©Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
Musa Nyatama joins Highlands Park after Orlando Pirates exit – report
Musa Nyatama has reportedly signed a six-month deal with Highlands Park afterr his recent departure from Orlando Pirates.
Nyatama enjoyed a second peak at Pirates between 2017 and 2020. Image: ©Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Musa Nyatama has joined fellow PSL outfit Highlands Park, FarPost reports.
The 32-year-old was – along with Asavela Mbekile – one of two players released by the Soweto giants in the final hours of the January transfer window.
Highlands Park sign Musa Nyatama
He was strongly linked with a move to the Lions of the North, who are no strangers to doing business outside the transfer window.
According to the Thembisa-based club’s director Sinky Mnisi, Nyatama joined on a six-month deal.
“That’s correct…it’s a deal until the end of the season,” Mnisi told the publication.
Sinky Mnisi
Nyatama left Pirates after struggling for game time, with Ben Motshwari and new recruit Fortune Makaringe preferred in the middle of the midfield.
The player had been at the club since June 2017 after joining from Bloemfontein Celtic.
He made 69 appearances for the Buccaneers across competitions, but those wore thin in the ongoing season as he featured just eight times before his shock exit.
Nyatama made his PSL debut for the now-defunct Thanda Royal Zulu in a shock 1-0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs back in February 2008.
He netted his first league goal for the club the following season when they lost 2-1 to the same opponent on their way to relegation from the top flight.
Following the KwaZulu-Natal outfit’s drop to the second tier, the player was snapped up by provincial rivals Maritzburg United, and went on to represent Mamelodi Sundowns, where he struggled to break into the first team before his four-year stay at Celtic.
He joins a Highlands Park outfit that has had a quiet transfer window, with no confirmed signings in January.
Lions bag another free agent
The Lions of the North have, however, been known to prowl the free agents market, where they have nabbed a number of players currently in their ranks.
The famously signed striker Rodney Magalela, who was then the reigning Golden Boot holder, on a pre-contract from Polokwane City, resulting in the player being frozen out by the Limpopo-based club.
Other players to have joined the club as free agents include former Pirates marksman Tendai Ndoro, who had just been released by Ajax Cape Town, as well as veteran goalkeeper Greg Etafia, who came out of retirement after four years of operating as a coach.
Highlands Park play their next match on Friday against first division outfit Uthongathi in the Nedbank Cup.
Kick-off is at 20:15.
