Orlando Pirates set to boot striker out!

Orlando Pirates may be interested in adding to their squad during the January transfer window, but they are equally ready to shed off some deadwood.

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Pirates finished 2023 with a whimper, losing two of their last two games of the year, against SuperSport United and Stellenbosch FC.

Pirates looking to refresh squad

Those two results and losing five games already this season, seem to have forced the Pirates management to scrutinise their side, and look at areas where they can add depth as well as get rid of their fringe contingent. Now that group seems to be ever-growing at the club and one player that has firmly been in that group is Cameroonian striker Souaibou Marou. 

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Marou joined Pirates just a year ago with much fanfare, having been a rare local player in the Cameroon squad for the Qatar World Cup in 2022. That was due to his good form for his former club in his native, which, in turn caught the eye of the Buccaneers. Even though he did not play a single game at the World Showpiece two years ago, it was already an impressive feat for him to be part of a 23-man squad with so many players playing abroad. 

Marou has not made an impact for Buccaneers

But in a Pirates jersey, it hasn’t quite happened for Marou, who has not been not impressed in his few opportunities at the club. He was widely tipped to leave the club in the previous window, just six months after joining the Soweto giants, but then miraculously survived the chop. But now, according to The Citizen the player has no more lives left and is set to be axed by the club soon.

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“Marou is leaving the team, there is no doubt about that. The guy is struggling to cope, even at training. He has been given the chance to show what he can do, but it’s juts not working out for him. I’ve seen his videos before he came to the team, we all thought that he was going to be the next big foreign player in the league, His time is over, I don’t want to lie. That’s unless if the coach (Jose Riveiro) still needs him. But the management doesn’t see why they still have to keep him at the club.” Said the source to the same publication. 

Exit imminent

It now seems like a matter of when and not if Marou will leave Pirates, but it would be interesting to see where his next destination would be and if the Buccaneers will get a fee for him.