What Went Wrong?
Keletso Makgalwa, nicknamed 'Aguero', was seen as a player who had the potential to follow in the footsteps of Percy Tau after earning promotion from Mamelodi Sundowns' Diski Challenge team. He has pace to burn, is tricky with the ball at his feet and started his career on a good footing at the Chloorkop-based side, but if truth be told, his career seems to have hit the skids. Soccer Laduma looks at what has gone wrong for the pint-sized attacker in his career, with close sources revealing the 'big problem' that could be hindering his progress.
What The Siya Crew Has Been Told…
When he was promoted to the Mamelodi Sundowns first team, Keletso Makgalwa was under the tutelage of Pitso Mosimane, who rated him highly and gave him opportunities to play in a star-studded side. His career has not made much progress over the last few seasons, however, and Soccer Laduma understands that the former national U23 international is currently playing for M-Tigers, the Brazilians' feeder team, in the ABC Motsepe League. Some of the other players who are believed to be at the same outfit at the moment are Pule Maraisane and Malebogo Modise.
Lyle Lakay is understood to have trained with them before making a move to SuperSport United a few weeks ago. The departure of Mosimane to Al Ahly, back in September 2020, saw Makgalwa struggle to break into the team at Chloorkop and, as a result, he has since been loaned out on four different occasions. According to a couple of sources who have worked with the player while he was out on loan, the Mokopane-born star is understood to have relied on the fact that he is still a Sundowns player, which is why they believe he didn't give his all during those spells out on loan. Makgalwa was first loaned out to Maritzburg United in 2018, but he was there for less than six months before parting ways with the Midlands outfit, having to return to the Brazilians. The 26-year-old was loaned out to Swallows FC for the 2021/22 season.
He made 27 appearances in all competitions, contributing with one goal and an assist, before leaving the Dube Birds. At the time he was at Swallows, it was revealed to the Siya crew that the club was paying him in the region of R100 000.
"When Keletso was at Swallows, he was on loan, so for him it felt like it didn't matter what would happen. He didn't put in the work. He was kind of a lazy player, but he was expecting to play. He had that entitlement of saying, 'I am a Sundowns player'", an informant said.
"The only way Keletso will play is if Sundowns releases him and he finds a team somewhere and he plays. He needs to start from scratch. For him to come back to reality, he needs to join an NFD (National First Division, officially known as Motsepe Foundation Championship) club and start from scratch. He had that 'don't care' attitude and it was not good for him. He needed to understand that when Sundowns sent him out on loan, they sent him out so that he could improve," added the source.
The stint at the Dobsonville-based side was followed by a loan spell with TS Galaxy during the first half of last season, but as with his time at the Team of Choice, he was there for less than six months. A source who spent some time at the Rockets gave insight into how the player's mentality let him down, which is believed to have led to his sudden exit.
"I think it's the mentality. He needed to accept that he was no longer at Sundowns. He did not quite focus on resurrecting his career. He was not working hard. It was as if he knew that he would go back to Sundowns. At the time he was at Galaxy, the deal was 60/40 percent. Sundowns were paying 60 percent (of his salary) and Galaxy were paying 40 percent," the source told the Siya crew.
"But the biggest thing was the mentality. The coaches were impressed by his pace and other things, but he could not live up to that. He needs to change his mentality because he is a good player. I think the fact that he is a Sundowns player tends to get over his head. He has sponsorship from Puma and he is driving this luxury car, so for him it's all good. So, I feel that he needs to change his mentality and I think that will help him."
For the second half of last season, Makgalwa was at All Stars in the Motsepe Foundation Championship. He returned to Chloorkop, but it appears the technical team has no plans to have him form part of the first team and the only option for him is to find a club elsewhere. But the Siya crew understands that there has not been too much interest coming his way, especially from clubs in the topflight.
What Are The Facts?
Before going out on loan to Maritzburg in 2018, Downs handed Makgalwa a five-year contract, which was due to expire at the end of June 2023. The deal was a three-year one, with an option to extend it for a further two seasons. Currently training with the club's ABC Motsepe League side M-Tigers, the 26-year-old is understood to not have too many options on the table, a concern for him as he would still like to play his football in the PSL. The Brazilians' aim of sending the player out on loan was to help him improve his game and give him an opportunity to convince the technical team that he deserves a shot at playing regularly at the star-studded side. But the diminutive attacker did not use those opportunities and it drastically decreased his chances of returning to the first team at Sundowns.
The Story Behind The Scenes
Weight Gain
A source at Galaxy spoke about how the player had gained some weight and had to work to shed it off. Makgalwa is understood to have struggled whenever he was not getting game-time, and weight gain was one of the concerns. At the time he left the Mpumalanga-based outfit, things were seemingly not going well for him. In an interview with SABC Sport, Galaxy chairman Tim Sukazi said, "Unfortunately for us, and maybe for him as well, it has proven to be a bit of a struggle. I think he has been afforded ample opportunities. We have already presented to his mother club Sundowns to say this is the situation and it doesn't help for him to sit here on a loan basis when he is not playing.
"He was here to help the club and himself. But then the situation doesn't seem to be working for both parties. The player also said that if he doesn't play, as it is currently the case, he would want to be released because he has other clubs that are interested in his services. I think that's what will happen."
There Is Still Time
At 26, Makgalwa still has time to turn things around in his career, but will be aware of the fact that time does fly and he cannot take it for granted. While he is still at M-Tigers, he has an opportunity to bounce back, if he makes the necessary changes to get back to his best. It seems that a change in attitude, as well as taking care of himself to stay in the best possible shape at all times as a professional athlete, is what is needed on his side.
Secret Agent
The Siya crew spoke to a top agent in SA to get their expert understanding on what's going on with one of South Africa's most talented players whose career is at risk of going south. For obvious reasons, the agent will remain anonymous.
"I was following his progress when he was in the Diski Challenge, and I liked what he was doing there. At the time, I thought his future was bright, but I think discipline might have affected him over the last few years. I think that if he had a lot more discipline, things would be different for him. In my opinion, it will be difficult for him to bounce back at the moment because the mentality does not seem to be at the right place.
"Time is also moving. This boy was supposed to follow in the footsteps of players like Percy Tau. If he was focused, then he would be far. Another thing is that I feel young players at times get a lot of money and I think there has to be a way where a portion of a young player's salary is held back so that they can grow. I think it will be difficult for him to make a return because of that mentality that 'I am from Sundowns'. He has towork hard like some of the other players. Whenever he went on loan, Sundowns were paying the salary or part of the salary, so it was like Sundowns were doing him a favour. If you don't have a budget, Sundowns are able to pay a (loaned out) player's salary. I saw this with Venda Football Academy (now Venda FC) and at Black Leopards, when Sundowns had loaned players to that team. Sometimes that does not help a player. So, I am just worried that he might not be able to bounce back. And sometimes it's important who your agent is. You need to sit down with these players and show them the future. I have players who open up to me and I am able to advise them on their careers."
Watch This Space
With the transfer window still open until Friday, a move for Makgalwa to a DStv Premiership or Motsepe Foundation Championship club cannot be ruled out just yet. The Siya crew understands that there are no concrete offers on the table for his services, which should normally sound the alarm bells for such a talented player, but it is understood his camp is still working behind the scenes to help the Mokopane-born lad make a return to the big time.
