Reports indicating that Orlando Pirates utility player Abbubaker Mobara is close to completing a move to Cape Town City emerged on Monday.
However, the rumours have been dismissed by City boss John Comitis, who played down the speculation.
The club boss admitted that City are interested in the versatile player, but he is yet to open negotiations with Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza.
“I’ve been trying to get hold of Irvin [Khoza, Pirates boss] to chat about Mobara, but we just haven’t been able to discuss things as yet,” Comitis told The Citizen.
Mobara's current contract with the Buccaneers is expected to expire at the end of this month, but Pirates reportedly has an option to extend it by a further year.
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Comitis indicated that Mobara could be too expensive for the Citizens, who are looking to beef up their squad ahead of the 2019/20 Premier Soccer League (PSL) campaign.
“The player is on a big contract at Pirates and that’s something we will have to consider. We are interested – he is the type of player who could work well for us," he continued.
“But, right now, there’s still a long way to go and we certainly can’t confirm that a deal is in place to bring Mobara to City."
Pirates signed Mobara from Ajax Cape Town prior to the start of the 2016/17 season.
The 25-year-old player had a promising start to life at the Houghton-based side featuring in 21 PSL matches in his first season with the club.
However, Mobara began struggling for game time in the following campaign after the arrival of Serbian coach Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic in August 2017.
The Cape Town-born player has since made 17 appearances in two campaigns under Micho and he is likely to be offloaded by Pirates.
