Kaizer Chiefs seem to have developed a reputation for exporting a player abroad regularly in the past couple of seasons.
Even though Chiefs would like to keep their best players as a big club, they also don’t hold them back.
Chiefs sold Maart to Rapid
During the current transfer window, Chiefs did not stand in the way of their captain Yusuf Maart, when an offer came. The box-to-box midfielder recently left the Glamour Boys, after they accepted an offer from Austrian side SK Rapid Wien. That signalled the end of his three years at the club, having joined from Sekhukhune United in the 2022/23 season. He left ultimately left them with good memories, scoring the winning goal of the Nedbank Cup final.
Of course, this would’ve been sweeter for Chiefs fans and Maart as he scored it against Orlando Pirates. His former club where he hardly got a look in, and the arch rivals of Amakhosi. But as their fanbase were still digesting that move, they could’ve been rocked by another. According to Soccer-Laduma, the Bafana Bafana star is not the only player from the squad that was attracting interest in Austria. The publication reports that talented playmaker Mduduzi Shabalala was the subject of interest from Maart’s rival side Austrian Wien.
Rejected Wien’s interest in Shabalala
“Yes, there was reported interest from a club in Austria (in Shabalala), but the deal did not materialise. It was interest from Austria Wien.” Said the source on the Chiefs forward’s situation.
A second source added that Chiefs were not yet ready to part ways with Shabalala. This despite the efforts of Wien.
“Yes, there was interest from a team in Europe (Wien) but Kaizer Chiefs were not ready to release the player at that point, and that’s why the deal didn’t go through. But it’s true, the interest was there for Mdu (Shabalala),” said the source.
Wrong or right move from Amakhosi?
Chiefs fans, was the club right to reject the advances of Wien? Or should they have let Shabalala go? Let us know by clicking on the comment tab. Or by emailing info@thesouthafrican.com or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. You can also follow @TheSAnews on X and The South African on Facebook for the latest news.