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Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has moved quickly to dismiss mounting claims that the Pretoria club intends to ditch former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder George Maluleka in the coming days before kicking a angry ball with the colors of your new employer.
Mngqithi told SowetanLIVE’s sister publication TimesLIVE that they have looked at rumors linking Maluleka to a Cape Town outing on a loan deal and insisted that contrary to claims, the industrious midfielder is still part of Sundowns’ plans for the new 2020-21 Premier League season. .
“Where did you get this from?” Mngqithi asked when TimesLIVE approached him for a comment.
“George is not going anywhere.
“One thing I can tell you in advance is that George is in our plans.
“George is one of the players that we are still evaluating and we are happy with what we see and we believe that he can go from strength to strength.
“We know what it is capable of and we have no problem, so maybe [can] kill that [rumour] completely.
“There is just no problem with George and he knows he is in our plans. He’s working really hard and he’s lost a lot of weight and he looks great. “
Sundowns officially announced the signing of Maluleka in July after the Chiefs released him.
The midfielder had signed a pre-contract with the Brazilians at the beginning of the year.
Rumors of his imminent departure from Chloorkop began circulating early last week, but Mngqithi, who was recently appointed co-coach with Rulani Mokwena, insisted they are unfounded.
While Mngqithi was very clear about Maluleka’s future, he couldn’t say the same about the fate of the 11 other new players Sundowns has signed ahead of the new season.
The list of newcomers includes forwards Kermit Erasmus, Lesedi Kapinga, Gift Motupa and Peter Shalulile, goalkeepers Ricardo Goss and Jody February, midfielders Mothobi Mvala, Grant Margeman, Hashim Domingo, Aubrey Modiba and Luvuyo Phewa.
“I would not confirm that everyone will stay,” Mngqithi said.
“We still have to evaluate others and we haven’t had that much time. But we will not be selfish if we do not think that the player is going to play.
“We will be honest and direct and we will try to make it possible for those players to have the opportunity elsewhere.
“But we don’t want to be irrational, be unfair to other people’s children, not look at them and observe them impartially, and see what they have.
“We could also have limitations on the numbers that we have to deal with.
“Over the years, we’ve always tried to make sure that we don’t have a very large team that has a lot of unhappy people who are unhappy when things don’t go their way.
“Honestly speaking, it’s always okay for me to do things the right way instead of keeping someone just because you have the power.
“We will give these guys a chance and see exactly if we think one, two or three of them will help us this season.
“And if we feel that we may not get the benefit, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road. Maybe we can still bring the player back next season or when that’s the case.
“But the way things are now, one cannot compromise and say that this or that player is going to be in our plans. It’s not possible.”
Champions Sundowns begin their defense of a league title they have won three times in a row with an opening win against Chiefs at FNB Stadium next Saturday.
But that delicious clash will be preceded by Sunday night’s MTN8 quarterfinal clash against Bloemfontein Celtic at Lucas Moripe Stadium.
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