The curious tale of why certain Mamelodi Sundowns players are always sent out on loan for consecutive seasons has been uncovered by Soccer Laduma.
Sundowns have sent a number of their players who can't immediately make it into their team, on loan to get game-time and the players who can't make the grade at the Tshwane side, find it difficult to part ways with the club contractually, in future.
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Soccer Laduma has reported in edition 1294, currently on sale, that Masandawana loanee Nicholas Lukhubeni finds himself in a tricky situation of always going out on loan instead of joining another club permanently.
Lukhubeni was promoted from Sundowns' academy in 2020 when former coach Pitso Mosimane was in charge but has been sent out on loan to four different clubs, Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, Sekhukhune United, Maritzburg United and currently at Swallows, since the 2020/21 season.
According to information made available to the Siya crew, Lukhubeni has been keen to terminate his contract with Sundowns, so he can settle at another club but there is a stumbling block, as both parties can't agree on terms.
The big sticking point is that, according sources privy to the contractual dealings at Masandawana, the Brazilians don't write off the years that a player spents on loan at another club.
This means that Lukhubeni still has four years to run on his contract after signing a five-year deal when he got promoted and that initial agreement makes it difficult for the two parties to agree terms on a termination of contract.
The 26-year old will have to return to Sundowns when the season ends to be assessed again.
Another player who may still have a future with the Brazilians is Lyle Lakay.
Lakay was surprisingly sent out on loan to Cape Town City after the Tshwane giants signed Terrence Mashego from the same club.
The reigning Defender of the Season's loan contract at City is to expire at the end of the current campaign, however, given Sundowns' loan policy, he could have a longer stay at the club, as the period spent on loan at another club does not count on the initial contract agreement, according to information provided to the Siya crew.
Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi also confirmed that Lakay is still their player and they sent him out on loan to get game-time.
"He (Lakay) is still our player, by the way, just for your information. So, we released him because we wanted him to get more game-time. It’s good for him to get more game-time," Mngqithi told journalists in a press conference.
"We are looking at our squad and saying if you’ve got a player of Lyle’s age and his game-time is already affected if you look at how we have started the season.
"But he has served the club very well, we are very proud of what he has done for us and we are in full support of him pursuing his endeavors to go to Cape Town City," he said.
"Because that is also good for the player to get game-time regularly, in the space where Cape Town City is also going to be competing in the CAF Champions League," he added.
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