Mamelodi Sundowns don't want Brian Onyango, says Thulani Thuswa

It was previously reported that Maritzburg United chairman Farook Kadodia, had accused Mamelodi Sundowns of attempting to unsettle one of his players as well as several other players from other clubs.

These accusations were made in wake of reports linking Kenyan defender Brian Onyango to Chloorkop, and subsequently the defender has gone AWOL. However, Maritzburg have since gone on to issue a statement clarifying their position on the matter. Nonetheless, Sundowns have not taken too kindly to the accusations, and despite admitting they were initially interested in signing Onyango, Sundowns’ media spokesman Thulani Thuswa has vehemently denied any wrongdoing on Sundowns’ part.  

“We don’t want Onyango,” a considerably frustrated Thuswa told Goal.

“There was interest but as soon as we could not reach an agreement on a fee and negotiations broke down we stopped. But I don’t understand, the fact that people asking Sundowns about a Maritzburg United player is worrying. Because we would not know his whereabouts, we don’t speak to players, we speak to the team. We don’t’ speak to players at all,” he said.

Furthermore, Thuswa issued a statement to Goal, on behalf of the club addressing the allegations made against the club.

“We have noted distasteful comments from other club officials blaming Mamelodi Sundowns for their missing players, and we are obviously not happy that people are blaming us for things that we know nothing about. But in this market, there is a willing buyer and willing seller. We talk to clubs when we want their players, and when we can’t reach any agreement with those clubs then we pull back. So, we don’t engage players directly who are contracted to other clubs. We want the league to be run professionally and we will not be the ones to mess that up,” Thuswa’s stated.

Meanwhile, in other Sundowns news Goal can confirm that the returning duo of Cuthbert Malajila and Mogakolodi Ngele are back in Tshwane, but they are training with Sundowns’ MultiChoice Diski Challenge team as their future still remains uncertain. The pair spent the 2016/2017 Premier Soccer League campaign out on loan at Bidvest Wits and it is believed that they are not in Pitso Mosimane’s plans for the immediate future.

“They are back at training. They are training with our reserves because our first team is still off (on holiday). As far as we are concerned that is all,” Thuswa added.

Sundowns have been relatively quiet in the market and have been linked with several players, But Thuswa reiterated that the market is not easy to manoeuvre due to the hefty price tags being placed on their target’s heads.

“Buying players are difficult for Sundowns because when we want a player we hear a 'phone number' type of amount, that is why I am saying it is difficult out here,” he concluded.