AmaZulu Were Interested In Sirino But…
AmaZulu was behind the scenes interested in signing former Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Gaston Sirino, but the deal ultimately fell through due to several factors.
Sirino’s high salary demands proved to be a stumbling block for the KwaZulu-Natal-based club, allowing Kaizer Chiefs to secure his services.
Usuthu coach Pablo Franco Martin, who shares a common language with Sirino, was keen on the Uruguayan’s addition to the team. However, the financial constraints associated with Sirino’s salary made the deal untenable for AmaZulu.
Meanwhile, Chiefs had explored a potential swap deal involving left-back Riaan Hanamub and Sibongiseni Mthethwa. However, Usuthu firmly rejected the proposal, indicating that there was no way they were going to lose their key player to Chiefs and get Mthethwa.
Interestingly, Usuthu was rumoured to be interested in Mthethwa during the start of last season before heading to the Soweto giants from Stellenbosch.
Another player on Usuthu’s radar was former Chiefs striker Samir Nurkovic, who recently became a free agent after his release from TS Galaxy.
As Usuthu hosts Chiefs at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday next week, coach Martin was asked at the press conference on Tuesday about the burley striker, who scored against Usuthu in the 2020/21 season for Chiefs, if he will be interested in him again now that he’s a free agent.
“I said then and I’m saying today as well,” said Martin when he was reminded of his point when he said no coach in the world is happy with the squad.
“But this is a question for the director of football (Pedro Dias) and I don’t know what point this player and some of the other players.”
He added, “At some point, we could target certain players, but circumstances might change, and the timing might not be right. As I’ve mentioned, we’re happy and confident with our current squad. If an opportunity arises to strengthen the team, and the technical staff agrees, then everything is possible. I know from last season’s experience that things can happen until the last day.”
