Cape Town Spurs winger Asanele Velebayi has been appointed captain following his failed move to Kaizer Chiefs.
The 21-year-old winger attracted interest from Amakhosi but the move failed to materialise. The Soweto giants’ first offer was rejected and it appears that both parties failed to reach an agreement on the youngster.
Kaizer Chiefs earlier signed ex-Spurs’ defender Rushwin Dortely but the Urban Warriors refused to sell Velebayi. The SA junior international has since been appointed Captain.
“Coach Ernst Middendorp’s decision to appoint Asanele Velebayi as the club captain is an indication of the trust he has in him as the player and person. We wish Asanele much success.” Spurs revealed in a statement.
The club’s CEO Alexi Efstathiou has revealed that Kaizer Chiefs were not the only team interested in Velebayi.
“There was interest from three different clubs locally and there was interest from overseas as well but the overseas ones I think were more difficult and more speculative than the local ones.” he told iDiski Times.
“I would say mostly verbal, if you want to call it a serious offer, the one that came in writing from Kaizer Chiefs probably a month ago which we declined as it was substantially lower than the asking price.
Spurs boss explains why Velebayi’s move to Kaizer Chiefs did not work out
“After that, was there no other? Not in writing, there were further discussions in actual fact if I’m not mistaken on Monday. We spoke with them (Chiefs) again, and we said listen these are the numbers we looking for, this is how we can assist in making the deal more palatable to you and they promised to come back to us on the next day, whether it was accepted or not. Unfortunately, they did not,” Efstathiou added.
“I think the next contact was on Thursday telephonically but the discussion proved fruitless as the numbers were way apart. The important thing here is that we did three other transfers, one with Kaizer Chiefs and then we did two with Stellenbosch so it’s not that we were not willing to do the deal with Chiefs. Clubs, buying or selling, determine the value of the transaction.
“I think the complication in this deal was when someone leaked the fact that we were in talks with Chiefs. Had this not happened, I think this deal would have probably happened and gone a lot smoother. As with the other transfers, had confidentiality been maintained between the two clubs, we believe things could have been different. Asanele’s situation blew out of proportion in the media and the waters became muddy for both parties. There are people who believe using social media to achieve their goals is the way to go,” he said.
It remains to be seen if Kaizer Chiefs will try to sign Velebayi in the January transfer.
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