Miguel Cardoso identifies Lucas Ribeiro Costa's replacement as Mamelodi Sundowns coach also discusses the future of Thapelo Maseko amid transfer speculation

Lucas Ribeiro Costa has terminated his Mamelodi Sundowns contract as he looks to sign for Qatar SC, although Masandawana have not released him.

However, coach Miguel Cardoso has already resigned to losing the attacker and has already identified Thapelo Maseko as Ribeiro's replacement, although the 21-year-old thrives more on the left wing, where Tashreeq Matthews operates from.

This is despite Maseko also pushing for an exit from Chloorkop and having even expressed his frustration at being a Sundowns player, as he has been strongly mentioned as a player highly likely to leave the club.

But Cardoso says Maseko is not going anywhere.

“Of course, he [Maseko] will be here after the window closes. Why should he not be here?” Cardoso said as per iDiski Times.

“He’s a Mamelodi Sundowns player, he’s part of the squad. And as I see in the club, I don’t see any intention from no one to let him go. 

“He’s working good, of course, when you don’t have a Lucas Ribeiro playing on the right where he can play, it gives more chances to the players that can play in those positions, and it’s obvious he’s trying to fight for a space. 

“Obviously, I want my players motivated, and if I give them chances, is also to keep them motivated and to understand they are part of the core of the team," added the former Esperance coach. 

“There’s no one on the group that we don’t count, and everything that happens inside the club will always have to deal with interests of the player, and interests of the club.

“I think it’s clear on the statement from the club is regarding players going out or coming in. 

"It’s a moment for stability and not for instability, because we are building, building from the past," he continued. 

"We lost important players, not many, but very important, because the consequences that they have, the impact that they have on the game was enormous, tremendous."

The 21-year-old has seen little game time under the Portuguese coach and was even left out of the squad that went to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. 

That fuelled talk suggesting that he was not in Cardoso's plans, and his recent expression of his frustration painted the picture of a man on his way out of Chloorkop.

For a player who was at the last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations finals with Bafana Bafana, Maseko's struggles threatened to throw him into oblivion.

Now, after making his season debut in the MTN8 semi-final, second leg against Orlando Pirates, he would be pushing for more game time and return to the national team ahead of the 2025 Afcon tournament.

Following Masandawana's exit from the MTN8, they now switch focus to facing Kaizer Chiefs in a Premier Soccer League match on Wednesday. 

It is a match in which Maseko could be handed a starting spot as Cardoso tries to fix things after the MTN8 elimination.