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Jayden Adams, Fawaaz Basadien & Thapelo Maseko, Mamelodi Sundowns 16-9GOAL GFX
Celine Abrahams

Five Mamelodi Sundowns players who desperately need a move away from the club

Masandawana’s depth is the envy of the continent - a squad stacked with internationals, specialists and system players built for dominance across competitions. But that strength comes with a cost: talented footballers slipping down the pecking order, roles shrinking, confidence fading and careers stalling under the weight of relentless competition in a team designed to win everything.

Mamelodi Sundowns’ squad is a machine - layered, meticulously constructed and engineered for a coach who demands tactical versatility, rotation and excellence in every position. Miguel Cardoso has inherited and refined a group where competition is unforgiving and standards are sky‑high. Every role has depth, every position has challengersand every training session feels like a trial.

But in a squad this stacked, not everyone thrives. Some players become passengers, others victims of tactical evolution and a few simply lose rhythm in the churn of constant rotation. 

Here, GOAL lists five Sundowns players who, through no lack of talent, now look like they need new environments, new responsibilities and new air to breathe. 

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  • Jody February, Mamelodi Sundowns, February 2025.BackPagePix

    Jody February

    February’s story at Sundowns has become one of the most frustrating in the squad. Now 29, he is no longer the young prospect who once shone as a junior national team goalkeeper, carrying the promise of a future Bafana Bafana number one. Those early years were filled with expectation - sharp reflexes, big‑game temperament and a maturity beyond his age. 

    But at Chloorkop, that trajectory has stalled. February has spent season after season buried behind a long list of senior goalkeepers, rarely making match-day squads and rarely seeing competitive minutes. For a player in his prime, the lack of rhythm is career‑threatening. Goalkeepers need games, responsibility, and trust - none of which he’s getting in a department stacked with experience and continental pedigree.

    In all honesty, he cannot afford another year of watching from the sidelines. He needs a club willing to hand him the gloves, the minutes and the platform to rebuild the promise that once made him one of South Africa’s most exciting young keepers. Staying at Sundowns risks turning a career of potential into one of regret.    

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  • Jayden Adams, Mamelodi Sundowns, September 2025Backpage

    Jayden Adams

    Adams’ move to Sundowns was meant to elevate his career - a step into a bigger arena, a chance to grow under elite coaching. Instead, he has found himself swallowed by the depth of a midfield stacked with specialists. 

    Competing with an incredibly long list of exciting midfielders has left him fighting for scraps of minutes. His versatility, once a strength, has become a curse in a system where clearly defined roles and immediate impact are prized, with even newer arrivals jumping ahead of him in the pecking order. 

    Adams needs a club where he can be a central figure, not a rotational piece. His passing range, press resistance and tactical intelligence deserve a platform, not a bench seat.  

  • Thapelo Maseko, Mamelodi SundownsBackpage

    Thapelo Maseko

    Maseko’s situation is one of the most puzzling at Sundowns. A young, explosive winger with national‑team potential, yet he continues to drift in and out of match-day squads with no consistent role. 

    The 2025/26 season has offered little change - he remains behind a long list of senior attackers and his development has stalled as a result.  

    At 22, he cannot afford another year of cameos and late‑game scraps. A move, even a loan, would give him the runway to grow into the star he’s meant to be. Staying risks turning potential into regret.

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  • Lebo Mothiba, Mamelodi SundownsBackpage

    Lebo Mothiba

    Mothiba arrived with pedigree, presence and expectation - a striker with European experience and the physicality to dominate Premier Soccer League defences. But injuries, competition and tactical shifts have made his Sundowns chapter uneven. 

    With Peter Shalulile, Iqraam Rayners and Arthur Sales all competing for central roles up front, Mothiba has struggled to build rhythm or form. 

    He still has the instincts, movement and finishing touch to be a leading striker in the league, but he needs consistent starts to rediscover his sharpness. A move could be the reset that unlocks his best football again. At this stage of his career, he needs a club willing to make him a focal point, not a rotational option.  

  • Fawaaz Basadien, Mamelodi SundownsBackpage

    Fawaaz Basadien

    Basadien’s Sundowns chapter has become a slow, painful slide from prominence and the consequences now stretch beyond club football. Not long ago, he was a key figure in Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana setup, trusted for his energy, balance and reliability on the left flank. Today, he’s not even part of the squad heading to the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. 

    That fall from the national team picture mirrors his struggles at Chloorkop. With Aubrey Modiba and Divine Lunga the preferred options ahead of him, Basadien has been reduced to sporadic appearances and long spells on the bench.  

    His natural strengths - overlapping runs, early crosses and front‑foot defending - don’t fully align with Sundowns’ current full‑back profile, leaving him stranded between systems and slipping further from the spotlight. 

    For a player who was once central to both club and country, the stagnation is glaring. Basadien needs a move that restores rhythm, confidence and relevance. Staying risks cementing a decline that should never have begun.

  • Miguel Cardoso, Mamelodi Sundowns November 2025Backpage

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