South Africa national U20 head coach Raymond Mdaka says they have struck an agreement with Cape Town City for Emile Witbooi to arrive after their first game of the U20 Cosafa Cup in Mozambique.
Witbooi, who just turned 18 this month is among the key members of the U20 national team set-up and has enjoyed an impressive start to the new season with City in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
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While there’s been major speculation around his club future, he was a notable absentee from their camp this week when made available to the media, which Mdaka says was due to an agreement with City.
Cayden Fortune, another member of the City squad was also not present, as well as Fletcher Smythe Lowe (Estoril), Bennet Mokoena (Mamelodi Sundowns) and Mpho Padime (Orlando Pirates).
“Some few players arrived this weekend, [Kgomotso] Madiba will arrive tonight [Monday], Witbooi was also playing and they requested a compromise for us to have him after the game on the 19th [September], we afforded him because of his quality,” Mdaka said.
“Looking at the fixture we have on the 19th – against Lesotho, we play Angola on the 21st and then the 23rd against eSwatini, so it’s only three players, one arrived, and the other two will be able to join us after the first match in Mozambique.”
When asked how the players will be integrated after missing the camp before making the trip to Mozambique; “What we have been doing that people may not see, we try by all means, with coach Karabo honestly and the other coaches too.
“We make sure that we are in most of the games that are there, those we could not reach, we always have clips and matches,” Mdaka explained about the players not in camp.
“We talk to the players, we motivate them, they don’t have to feel like they are left out, we are monitoring them in essence, whoever we bring in, we’ve looked at them, watched them and we have had time looking at them just to see how far they can take us.”
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