Mamelodi Sundowns set to lose Teboho Mokoena to big-spending CAF Champions League rivals? - Agent opens up on Bafana Bafana international being tipped to replace Malian star

Mamelodi Sundowns star Teboho Mokoena is regarded as one of the finest midfielders in the country.  

He has been a key figure for a dominant Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League since he joined the club from SuperSport United in 2022.

Alongside his teammates Ronwen Williams, Aubrey Modiba and Khuliso Mudau, he has been a vital player for both the club and the national side.  

All were in Morocco, but their AFCON campaign ended early; however, the central midfielder has been linked with Egyptian and CAF Champions League giants, Al Ahly.  

Mokoena's agent, Glyn Binkin, has downplayed the rumours, stating the Mzansi star is contracted to Sundowns and that he has not received any enquiry from Al Ahly.

“We have not received any contact whatsoever from Al Ahly regarding signing Mokoena,” Binkin told Newsroom.

“Mokoena is still under contract with Mamelodi Sundowns, having renewed his contract last year.”

According to reports, Mokoena is wanted by the Egyptian heavyweights in order to replace Malian international Aliou Dieng. Dieng's contract is reportedly nearing expiration, and Al Ahly are ready to entice the Sundowns star to be the replacement.

A move to Al Ahly, some argue, represents a bigger chance for him, by probability, to win the Champions League title. The Red Devils have posted more successful Champions League stories than Sundowns. 

The Pretoria giants have expressed heartbreak since their last continental glory, and Mokoena was part of the squad that missed the title by a whisker last season.

After beating Al Ahly in the semi-final, Masandawana were stunned in the final by Egypt's Pyramids FC.  Given how ambitious Al Ahly have always been, should Dieng finally leave, they will scour the market for an equally talented replacement.

The Malian signed for Al Ahly in 2019 from Algerian heavyweights MC Alger and has been part of the club's success since then, even though he spent a loan spell at Saudi side AlKholood last season.

He returned in July and has been linked with a move to Al-Hazem, a side that Bafana forward Elias Mokwana serves on loan from Tunisian heavyweights Esperance.

Since he joined the Cairo heavyweights, Dieng has won three Egyptian Premier League titles, three Egyptian Cups, and four Egyptian Super Cups.

Four Champions League titles and two CAF Super Cups also form part of his trophy cabinet.

The Pretoria giants are known to stick to their players, especially those who are seen as key.

Given that they are chasing the Champions League and the PSL titles, they are expected not to entertain any offer for their top stars, however enticing such a deal might be. 

To win the aforementioned titles, Miguel Cardoso will need his experienced stars available, and Mokoena is one of them; that means a January move could be impossible.

Mokoena, 28, is expected to be part of Hugo Broos' squad that will participate in the World Cup finals in June.

Given that he is a regular starter for Sundowns, he might not want to transfer to a new club where he might not be assured of regular minutes before the World Cup.

He will also not want to antagonise Broos, who recently said that Bafana players should consider moves after AFCON and World Cup competitions.

Broos stressed his wish for players to find new clubs after the two vital international engagements when he discussed Mbekezeli Mbokazi's transfer to Chicago Fire.

“It’s not even a cup team in America. If my info is right, they told me he’s playing in MLS2, at the second team of Chicago – if it’s true, I don’t know; I will ask him when I see him. That is even worse," Broos said then.  

“But I know what happened; a woman who is his agent and thinks she knows football is doing what many agents are doing and thinking, ‘How much can I get?’ If she is a little bit clever, she knows there is AFCON, and next year it’s the World Cup, and that there will be other teams, better for his career, to go to and not to Chicago."