Mamelodi Sundowns skipper Hlompho Kekana earlier confirmed that he is keen to renew his contract with the Brazilians but on the condition that his salary is raised. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix Mamelodi Sundowns skipper Hlompho Kekana earlier confirmed that he is keen to renew his contract with the Brazilians but on the condition that his salary is raised. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
DURBAN – Supersport United were ready to snap up Mamelodi Sundowns captain Hlompo Kekana if his club had failed to renew his contract.
However, that was not to be as the Brazilians did everything to extend their ever-reliable skipper’s stay.
SuperSport chief executive Stanley Matthews disclosed this week that they did engage Kekana’s agent before he penned a new deal with Sundowns. The midfielder was in the last six months of his arrangement with the Chloorkop-based club before extending his contract by three years.
“His agent (Thulani Thuswa) contacted us and told us that he would be coming free,” Matthews said.
“But to be honest, it never went further than that because the numbers that he is on at Sundowns, which is well deserved, are way beyond our capacity. So I wouldn’t have been able to bring him back anyway.”
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Kekana is still going strong at 34.
“Secondly, in our team we have Tebza (Teboho Mokoena), we have Sipho Mbule, we have Jimmy Webber and Aubrey Modiba. We’ve got four strong type of central midfielders. If we are going to play 4-4-2 and then Hlompo will take one spot in the middle of the park and we will be left with one spot, which means the other four players will be competing for one spot.
“I think it was going to be counter-productive to where this team is going,” Matthews explained.
Kekana rose to prominence during his stint with SuperSport between 2008 and 2010. He lifted the Premiership title with Matsatsantsa back then.
“For me, I would rather see a younger Teboho Mokoena being fast-tracked into a Dean Furman role, which is where Kaitano (Tembo, the coach of SuperSport) is heading,” Matthews explained.
“By doing that, you’ll be able to play Mbule, Webber or Modiba. It will be great to see these young players battling it out for the place in the starting 11."
“As for Tebza (Mokoena), there are no guarantees for anyone in the team. At the end of the season, we will see if we replace Dean (who is going back to his family overseas).
“Remember, we also have the Ugandan, Moses Wayiswa. So I’m not in a rush to go out and bring players for the sake of it.”
“Hlompo would have been a good seasoned campaigner and as a former player of ours he would have been a solid bet, but it wasn’t viable financially and I’m glad he got an extended deal at Sundowns.
He deserves it.”