HERMAN GIBBS
THE transfer window is about to open officially, but PSL transfer activity has been subdued compared to last year’s corresponding period when clubs went into spending overdrive.
The transfer spending has plummeted because clubs have tightened their purse strings for various reasons. Very few clubs have sponsorships, attendances have dropped alarmingly, and gate takings are no longer a source of income except for the three big clubs.
Officially, the next PSL window opens on July 1, and perhaps then there will be a frenzy of activity.
Only 13 of the 16 Premiership clubs can do business in the transfer market because of a Fifa ban. TS Galaxy are the latest to be hit with a transfer ban by Fifa and they’ll join Royal AM and Richards Bay among the clubs that can’t register players during transfer windows.
Cape Town City appear to have made the best signing of late. They have landed Haashim Domingo, a former Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder. He was signed from Raja Casablanca, where he was a league winner in their ‘Invincibles’ season under former Orlando Pirates coach Josep Zinnbauer and assistant Fadlu Davids.
Somehow, Domingo could not crack a regular place in the run-on XI and only made 10 appearances and two starts.
A few days earlier, City signed influential Namibian playmaker Prins Tjiueza, who played a key role in guiding the Brave Warriors to their first Africa Cup of Nations knockout stage appearance in January.
After Afcon, several PSL clubs showed an interest in Tjiueza, but when he suffered an ankle injury, they backed off. Now that he has regained fitness, City secured the player’s signature.
Former Orlando Pirates and Sundowns kingpin Andile Jali is still out in the cold after he flew out of Moroka Swallows’ nest following a disciplinary breach in January.
With his release from Swallows, Jali was a free agent and his agent Mike Makaab has hinted that his 34-year-old client will return to the Premiership in the next week.
Bafana Bafana striker Lebogang Mothiba, who parted ways with French Ligue 1 club RC Strasbourg last month, has returned to South Africa. He is a free agent and according to media reports, is most likely to join Kaizer Chiefs. He is a product of Sundowns Academy.
Mothiba might be the ideal signing for Sundowns, who dominate matches but are not always able to score. In the last two matches of last season, Sundowns dominated City and Pirates but suffered back-to-back defeats because their strikers failed to score.
The 19-year-old Relebohile Mofokeng of Pirates is arguably the best young player in South Africa. He is on the shopping lists of Levante FC in Spain and Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers, although neither club has yet made an offer.
Bongani Zungu made a surprise departure from Sundowns and there is no indication of which club he’ll join next. He is a highly sought-after player and could attract attention from Chiefs and Pirates, although latest reports say he could end up in Saudi Arabia.