Along with Thembinkosi Lorch on transfer deadline day last week, Mamelodi Sundowns pulled out all the stops to bring winger Tashreeq Matthews back to the Premier Soccer League.
It's a deal that would not have come cheap – according to Transfermarkt, which is widely used in football circles by both clubs and agents, the former Borussia Dortmund player's transfer fee is listed as around R30 million.
Sundowns did not disclose the amount paid to IK Sirius in Sweden to get the Matthews deal over the line, but what Soccer Laduma sources have indicated is that the player was offered a four-year deal.
The fact that he is only 23 aligns with what the Siya crew reported recently about the club's sporting director Flemming Berg being given an open cheque book to recruit the best talent Mzansi has available.
Matthews had finished the previous campaign in the Swedish league with an impressive 10 goals and 11 assists in 33 matches, and had already been linked with possible moves to the MLS and Scotland.
But in the end, he chose Sundowns, returning home after he left these shores to join Dortmund from the Ajax Cape Town (now Cape Town Spurs) academy when he was only 18 years old.
Matthews told his new club's media in his announcement video that he'd joined the Brazilians to win titles with "the best team in the country", and he's now set to be part of that success at least until June 2028.
Was the PSL the right move for Matthews? Share your views in the comments section below!
