“You Know More Than Me!” Cardoso Delivers Cryptic Response To Sundowns’ Matuludi Raid
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has refused to confirm reports linking Polokwane City defender Thabang Matuludi with a move to the reigning African champions.
Matuludi has yet to feature for Polokwane City this season, despite coach Willy Moloto previously making it clear that the defender is not injured. Moloto has also declined to explain why the right-back has not played, adding further uncertainty to his situation.
The defender has been linked with a move to Orlando Pirates, but recent reports have claimed that he has signed for Sundowns. However, Cardoso was unwilling to confirm the reports when asked about the potential signing.
“You know more than me because you’re asking me a question that I don’t have an answer for,” Cardoso said.
“You’re telling me that in the next few days a player will be announced, and I cannot answer that because I’m not [aware]. You are more sure of that than myself.
“I don’t know who is speaking to you. You must tell me. No, really, I don’t have that information, so I cannot speak about something I don’t control.
“I can speak about, yeah, Deano Van Rooyen. Deano arrived; he’s here. Any player, after he gets officially announced, we can discuss all the things before, whatever will happen.
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to go over the natural process that happens inside any kind of our club. And there’s a follow-up.
“There’s a guideline process that we follow in every process, and the coach never goes in front of an official announcement. So, if it will happen, let’s see.”
Sundowns have already strengthened their options at right-back with the signing of Deano Van Rooyen, who was recently dismissed by Pirates. His arrival came at an important time for the Brazilians after Khuliso Mudau suffered an injury.
Cardoso explained why Sundowns decided to bring Van Rooyen to the club while stressing the importance of having sufficient quality and depth within his squad.
“Regarding Van Rooyen, you know, we think obviously that he can add things to the team; otherwise, he would not have come to Sundowns,” he added.
“He’s a quality player; his career speaks for him, and we obviously need to integrate him as best and as quickly as possible.
“We trust the players we have, as you saw today [when we beat Siwelele], and we will continue to trust them, but we need more options.
“We need not only to bring quality but also numbers, so that if there’s any case of an injury, we don’t stay looking at the sky, let’s say, or without options.”
Should Matuludi be officially unveiled as a Sundowns player, he would join Van Rooyen, Zuko Mdunyelwa and Thapelo Morena as the club’s right-back options.
His potential arrival would create further competition for the position while Mudau remains sidelined with injury.
