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Down has rebounded from losing players like Percy Tau, Leonardo Castro, Khama Billiat and Keagan Dolly. They should be fine letting the Uruguayan go
In an event that many Mamelodi Sundowns fans would have been dreading, influential forward Gaston Sirino looks set to join former Brazilian coach Pitso Mosimane at Al Ahly.
The deal has yet to be confirmed, but it seems likely that the Uruguayan fighter is on his way to Egypt on a $ 3 million deal, which is roughly R50 million.
Not surprisingly, Mosimane, who won the domestic treble with Sundowns last season before leaving for Egyptian giant Al Ahly, may be looking to move some of his previous best players north to Egypt.
And Sirino certainly falls into the top performer category. He may have a losing streak, but with that comes a burning desire to win.
In 100 games for the Sundowns, Sirino had 24 goals and 29 assists, just over one goal share every second game. There is no question that he has a genuine X-factor and that it has often proven to be the difference in a tight game. Also technically outstanding, he would fit Al Ahly well and it’s obvious why Mosimane would want him.
But that doesn’t have to mean the end of the Sundowns’ dominance, because they’ve recovered from losing their best players before. Percy Tau for one. Or the highly acclaimed ‘CBD’ combination that featured Leonardo Castro, Khama Billiat and Keagan Dolly, who together played a major role in Sundowns’ victory in the 2016 Caf Champions League.
They were able to rebuild after those three left, and there is no reason, largely thanks to the financial backing of owner Patrice Motsepe, that the Tshwane club should not do so again.
In fact, that reconstruction has already taken place and, in the new signings, Kermit Erasmus, Aubrey Modiba, Peter Shalulile, Gift Motupa, George Maluleka, Haashim Domingo, Mothobi Mvala, Grant Margeman and Lesedi Kapinga, Masandawana have brought in a group of proven, high-quality artists. .
Erasmus and Shalulile have already started working on their new club, while some of the others have barely appeared so far, such is the depth of talent at Sundowns.
Take Modiba, Motupa and Mvala, for example, regular scorers at their previous clubs, but still waiting to get their shot with the Brazilians.
Other existing players like Phakamani Mahlambi, Mauricio Affonso, Sibusiso Vilakazi and Lebohang Maboe also face a battle just to gain playing time. The more you look at the list of Sundowns gear, the more apparent the quality they have becomes. They are simply too high quality to allow a single player game to derail them.
Just between Erasmus and Shalulile, they scored 29 goals in the last league. Sirino scored three and added four assists in the league in 2019/20. Yes, their influence goes beyond those simple stats, but Masandawana has too much firepower to let the diminutive South American’s party take them down.
