Orlando Pirates had reportedly shown interest in signing Stellenbosch FC midfielder Sibongiseni Mthethwa before Kaizer Chiefs, but the player ended up signing for the latter club. The Siya crew finds out how Bucs were beaten to the player by Amakhosi.
Siya sources close to Pirates and the player have indicated what the reason could be as to why Bucs eventually pulled out of the race for Mthethwa.
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The source added that Pirates were supposedly willing to buy the player by adding a player or two to finalise the deal with Stellies but that when a R15 million price tag was reported then Bucs began to lose interest.
"The logistics involved didn't favour the way Pirates wanted the deal to go. Seriously, they wanted the player and at one point it looked like the deal was done and dusted but when Stellenbosch wanted only money like the R15 million mentioned and no player involved it was then tricky for Pirates," said the Siya source.
"They felt like they have signed a number of players already and to add another player without releasing another one or two would he a burden on them and that was one of the reasons why they pulled out.
"If Stellenbosch had agreed on money plus a player or players then Ben Motshwari could not have gone to AmaZulu but Stellenbosch. But when they saw that the Mthethwa deal won't work out they let Motshwari join AmaZulu without any problem," the source said.
A different source told Soccer Laduma that the number of players existing at Pirates in that position also made the technical team change their minds on bringing in Mthethwa.
"They thought with Thabang Monare, Miguel Timm, Makhehlene Makhaula and at times (Ndabayithethwa) Ndlondlo can also play in that position. They did not want to overload the defensive midfield," said the other Siya source.
"Yes, at first they were interested in him to buy after profiling him and looking at the players they have they decided that they should settle with what they have hence they let it go. So, he joined Kaizer Chiefs. Pirates are not regretting it at all," the source told Soccer Laduma.
The Siya crew contacted Pirates but the club didn't want to comment on the story.
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