Souaibou Marou of Coton Sport is said to be a target for Pirates. Photo: Frikkie Kapp/BackpagePix
Shocking new twist in Pirates’ striker signing, deal could be ‘off’
Despite a statement suggesting Pirates had successfully signed striker Marou Souaibou, there could be a dramatic U-turn.
Souaibou Marou of Coton Sport is said to be a target for Pirates. Photo: Frikkie Kapp/BackpagePix
*Note: this is an updated Pirates article
Last month, Cameroonian football website kick442.com reported that Marou Souaibou – who formed part of Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions squad at the FIFA World Cup – had signed a multi-year deal worth around R3.4 million plus add-ons with Pirates.
SABC Sport offered further insight to suggest in another report that the 22-year-old was expected to be heading to the Buccaneers after successful negotiations between Pirates and his club Coton Sport.
At the start of this week, it was then been reported that the club had officially agreed to sell Souaibou for an amount of US$200 000 (R3.4m), which will be paid with a 15% selling on fee.
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However, well-known football agent Mike Makaab, who facilitated the deal between the parties, has now stated that this news was premature and “unprofessionally” communicated.
The deal could now be called off.
“The statement was released prematurely because the deal hasn’t been concluded,” Makaab told Gagasi FM, as quoted by Soccer Laduma. “We are very annoyed, and I know Orlando Pirates is very annoyed because that’s not the way the Chairman operates. And obviously somewhere along the line, a source within the club or someone connected to a source within Coton Sport has released the details of the deal and that’s not how Pirates work, and it’s not how we work as a professional agency.
“So the deal hasn’t been done. I can assure you and the chances are that a deal won’t be done. Based on the fact that it was released in a very unprofessional manner, so we are not sure where we go from here.”
Makaab added that he would be meeting with Irvin Khoza this week to address the matter.
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It was previously reported that three European clubs had entered the race for the striker’s signature, namely Belgian Jupiler Pro League side Standard Liege, Armenia Bielefield of the German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1 side Clermont Foot FC.
It’s not surprising that Souaibou is in high demand considering that the talented forward is said to have scored 21 goals in all competitions last season on the way to claiming the 2022 Footballer of the Season in Cameroon, but Pirates seems to have successfully won the race for his signature.
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Interestingly, should this deal still indeed be confirmed by Pirates, Souaibou’s arrival would necessitate the departure of at least one overseas-based player as Bucs already have a full quota of five foreigners in Richard Ofori, Kwame Peprah, Olisah Ndah, Terrence Dzuvukamnanja and of course Bienvenu Eva-Nga, who is also from Cameroon.
During his career with Coton Sport, the youngster scored 30 goals in 63 games in all competitions, including a winner in the cup of Cameroon final.
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