Yanga SC striker Fiston Mayele has revealed there is nothing concrete on the reports linking him with Premier Soccer League side Kaizer Chiefs.
The striker’s latest comments set the record straight as far as the rumours surrounding his future and a reported potential transfer to Amakhosi are concerned.
"There was talk of Chiefs being interested in me, but there was never anything concrete," Mayele told FARPost.
"I still have one year left on my contract with Yanga. I’m preparing to go on holiday in [Lubumbashi], DRC, and we should conclude when I return. But I’ll definitely be at Yanga next season."
Meanwhile, Yanga SC assistant head coach Cedric Kaze is confident Mayele will remain with them.
Mayele, who emerged as a key goalscorer for the Tanzania Premier League and Azam Federation Cup winners, has reportedly attracted interest from South Africa, but Kaze states they have already held talks with the striker from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"He will be here and we have had a lot of discussions with him and the management. We are confident he will be here," Kaze told reporters.
Kaze’s revelations come after the club’s Chief Executive Officer, Senzo Mazingiza, affirmed that the star will not be put on sale despite his rising market demand.
"For sure, there have been phone calls – you know, I’ve got colleagues all over Africa. I’ve received three phone calls from South Africa, big clubs showing some interest," Mazingiza said in an earlier interview.
"Though the interest has not been expressed in writing or anything like that, the inquiries have been there and I’ve been quite frank to say that he’s not available, he has a contract with us and we want to do well in the interclub competition [Caf Champions League]."
"This year, Mayele had a lot of games and in the league, he was a little bit tired," Kaze, who was a former Yanga head coach before he returned as an assistant to Nasreddine Nabi, expounded.
"And we need to add someone to challenge him and someone to give us something very good in case Mayele is not playing or who can play with him too."
Mayele scored 16 Premier League goals for the Dar es Salaam giants and took the second spot on the scorers’ chart. Across all competitions, he found the back of the net 19 times and provided five assists in 32 games.
Zambian striker Lazarous Kambole has already been brought on board to strengthen the striking department ahead of the upcoming season.
