Lesedi Kapinga, Mamelodi Sundowns, December 2021Backpagepix

Kapinga to Kaizer Chiefs? Mamelodi Sundowns are letting Bafana stars ROT

There’s been increasing talk, in recent weeks, about Mamelodi Sundowns over-accumulation of resources.

Are the Brazilians’ ruining the league? Do we need FFP in the PSL? Has Downs’ spending made the top flight boring?

They’re all valid—and concerning—questions, but it’s the club’s amassing of ranked talent that has come back to bite them on transfer deadline day.

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Heading into the final day of the window, the futures of numerous Sundowns players were up in the air amidst rumours of discontent and a lack of playing time.

Andile Jali, Gift Motupa and Bradley Ralani are just some of the names who were tipped for the exit door on deadline day and rumoured to be departing before the window closes.

For each, it’s easy to see why.

Gift Motupa of Orlando Pirates is challenged by Hlompho Kekana of Mamelodi SundownsBackpagepix

It’s a similar story for Lesedi Kapinga, for whom things just aren’t working out in Pretoria.

He’s appeared just five times in the league this term, and he’s the kind of unused talent that has prompted some to accuse the Brazilians of letting players rot at the club.

A loan move is surely a must for Kapinga, and could also help Downs as the 27-year-old looks to rediscover form and fitness.

However, as the hours tick down before the window closes, he remains at the club.

The attacker has demonstrated—in the past—that he could have been a potential contender for the national side, that’s how good he was at Black Leopards, when South Africa’s biggest clubs were rumoured to be considering him.

On deadline day, he’s reportedly handed in a transfer request as he looks to force through a move away from Sundowns.

He’d be an asset for either Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates, and a move to either club would help him reignite his flagging career.

However, Sundowns just won’t do it. They surely won’t sanction a move of such a talented player that could strengthen—so significantly—one of the PSL’s other big three teams.

It’s bad news for all parties, particularly the player, who is exactly the kind of talent that has become a victim of Dr. Patrice Motsepe’s influx of funds into Sundowns, and their ability to stockpile some of the brightest teams in the division.

It weakens the PSL—observers don’t get to witness Kapinga in action week in, week out—and also denies Bafana Bafana from the services of a talented forward who, in theory, should be in his prime years.

Don’t expect the 27-year-old to get a move, and instead, expect Kapinga to continue to rot at Sundowns as the season continues.

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