Interest in Mamelodi Sundowns star confirmed as January loan transfer is being explored

Thapelo Maseko has struggled for game time at Mamelodi Sundowns this season, managing just 127 minutes from seven appearances across all competitions. 

The arrival of Miguel Cardoso at the Brazilians appears to have further complicated his situation, pushing him further down the pecking order. 

It is a difficult turn of events for a player who looked highly promising a few seasons ago and once seemed destined for a move to Europe.

Maseko himself publicly expressed his displeasure at the start of the campaign after he was left out of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup squad. 

His agent, Glyn Binkin, has since confirmed that they are exploring loan options in search of regular football.

“For Thapelo we have numerous options for him to go out on loan in January which we are discussing with Sundowns at the moment," Binkin told Soccer Laduma.

"He is a promising young talent who needs game time and if it’s not going to be at Sundowns [which situation we understand and respect] then they need to give him the opportunity to do so elsewhere which is in everyone’s interests and in particular for the player in order to progress his career which unfortunately has stagnated over the past two seasons.” 

In August, Maseko went on a social media rant, expressing his displeasure at being sidelined by Cardoso, especially after being left out of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup squad.

“I don’t even know when it started… but lately it’s like the fire in me is fading… I still train like my life depends on it, still push through every tired muscle, every mental battle but inside it feels empty. The game that once lit up my soul now feels different, heavier, colder,” Maseko shared on social media. 

“It’s a strange kind of pain, giving everything you have yet feeling unseen. You tell yourself to keep going but each day chips away at you, your confidence starts to crumble, your joy fades and the person you used to be feels like a memory you can’t reach anymore.

“The hunger, the excitement, the love for the grind, they’ve all been slipping away piece by piece. Now hope feels like something far off in the distance and I’m left wondering if I’ll ever get back to that place again," he added.

“This is what it’s like to lose your spark and the hardest part? Still showing up every single day, praying you’ll find it again.”

Apart from making a decision on Maseko, Cardoso has to see what he can do with midfielder Matias Esquivel. 

The Argentine was recently released from his loan deal by Greek side A.E. Kifisia midway through the season.

That leaves Cardoso with the task of deciding whether to accommodate Esquivel or loan him out.

"We all know that we later bought Matias Esquivel. I think he will come back; I think he will become a success. I can speak about Matias; it's not a problem. Matias is a player who came to Sundowns not with me, but with Rhulani Mokwena," Cardoso said in a previous interview.  

"But Matias is a very good player, and you will succeed where he will go. I also didn't give him playing minutes. It was not only coach Rhulani. Me also. We didn't give him any chances. But maybe for different reasons because I don't know what happened before.

"Matias also wasn't consistent in telling me that he wants to play. And that is said by training harder and better than the other players," added the Portuguese coach.

"You need to understand that a player to play must show in the training sessions that he is better than the ones who are playing in the same position."