Kaizer Chiefs were already monitoring Siphelele Ntshangase while he was still at Black Leopards, but Baroka moved decisively to secure his signature before any deal could materialise.
The situation then shifted unexpectedly, as Ntshangase found himself making the move to Naturena just a few months after joining Baroka.
BAROKA FC’S PLAN UNFOLDS
The club’s ambition had already been clear. Bringing in Doctor Khumalo as technical director signalled intent, and beating Kaizer Chiefs to Ntshangase’s signature only strengthened that message.
Also read: Images: Bafana Bafana’s new away kit
But behind the scenes, the situation shifted quickly. “Ntshangase came to Baroka because I bought him from Black Leopards; he was expensive at that time, I paid over R2 million for him,” Mphahlele tells KickOff.
“I signed Ntshangase for three seasons. After our win against Kaizer Chiefs, rumours were flying around that Ntshangase is wanted by Chiefs. The rumours further stated that Ntshangase wanted to play for Chiefs.
“Then I asked the boy, ‘Is it true? Do you want to play for Chiefs?’, he said yes. ‘I said okay.”
THE CALL KAIZER CHIEFS THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Instead of blocking the move, Baroka made a direct approach. “Then I gave Bobby [Motaung] a call and said to him, ‘Bobby, this boy says he wants to play for you, do you want this boy?”
“When Bobby said yes, I said, ‘okay, we are releasing him to Chiefs,’ and Chiefs paid us what we paid Black Leopards for Ntshangase. I said to Kaizer Chiefs ‘Just give me the money that I paid Black Leopards, then you will have the boy.”
Also read: Pirates annihilate Galaxy to go top ahead of Sundowns
