Stellenbosch's ambition questioned after selling stars to Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates & Mamelodi Sundowns - 'How long can they be top-four club?

The Premier Soccer League outfit made massive steps last season in South African top-flight football across all competitions.

They won the Carling Knockout and reached the Nedbank Cup semi-final before pushing to a third-place finish on the PSL table.

In the ongoing transfer window, Stellies have already lost two key players. Iqraam Rayners, who was last season's PSL Golden Boot runner-up, joined Mamelodi Sundowns while Orlando Pirates snapped up captain Deano van Rooyen.

In recent seasons, the team has lost top players like Ashley du Preez, Zitha Kwinika, Junior Mendieta, and Sibongiseni Mthethwa, among others.

However, that has not stopped them from creating problems for other teams because their recruitment model is working.

However, former Ajax Cape Town striker Nathan Paulse has questioned how long the tactic will work.

"For how long can they sustain the actual model that they have and still be a top-four club? You can look at them and say Stellenbosch has probably put themselves among the top clubs with a model that will come back to bite them," he told iDiski Times.

"How they go about it is another thing and that obviously is down to squad depth, down to the recruitment, how well they have done that because look you don’t get a goal scorer like Rayners every other day. He is someone that has been built over time because you must remember he has also been away from Stellenbosch after he left them initially.

"So he has been through experiences that have seen him grow into the player that he is now. So to bring in someone to kind of just to fill in and seamlessly take over his job, I don’t think that will happen so, they have some tough questions to answer," Paulse continued.

"But I’m sure even on the business side as well, I am sure if they agreed to the transfer then they had a contingency plan in place."

Stellies are in the MTN8 semi-final where they will, coincidentally, play Sundowns in a two-legged fixture.

Even without Rayners and Van Rooyen, they have managed to get into the second preliminary round of the Caf Confederation Cup meaning the remaining players can still deliver.