Although Kaizer Chiefs announced that an agreement was in place for one of their stars to stay on beyond June 30, it’s been explained that the player has to meet certain requirements.
Siphelele Ntshangase will have to put in an extra shift in the upcoming season to open the door for fresh contract talks at Naturena, the Siya crew understands.
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He has been left out in the cold for much of coach Ernst Middendorp’s time at the club so far, but Amakhosi exercised the added option in his initial contract from when he moved to there in January 2018.
However, he will now have to play his way to the negotiation table to convince management that he is worth keeping beyond the current deal, which now ends in June next year.
It came as a shock that Chiefs took up the option, especially after Middendorp had publicly criticised him for his overall contribution, leading to suggestions that the coach had very little to do with the decision to keep Ntshangase at Chiefs for another 12 months.
His agent, Jazzman Mahlakgane, told the Siya crew following the announcement that the player would remain a Chiefs player for one more year that he was not surprised.
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“I have always said that ‘Stash’ is one of the best midfielders Kaizer Chiefs acquired, whether he was able to feature prominently or not in the coach’s plans does not mean he has become a bad player overnight,” said Mahlakgane in part.
“He is not a coward, the type of player that is going to chicken out from a challenge because he’s not played for a year. We are very much aware of the statistics at Chiefs, but that does not take away the fact that – given a chance – he will rise, and at some point he could be the maestro at Chiefs. Give him a chance!”
The onus is on the player now to prove his worth.
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