Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler has confirmed that attacking midfielder Mduduzi Mdantsane was “very, very close” to joining Kaizer Chiefs before the Amakhosi pulled out of the deal.
Tinkler was a relieved man on Sunday after his side beat relegation-threatened Swallows 2-0 thanks to two wonder goals by Taahir Goodman and Taariq Fielies.
The three points saw City climb up the table into eighth position with 26 points after 20 games and take some pressure off Tinkler’s shoulders.
Mdantsane has been one of the regulars in Tinkler’s team, making 24 appearances this season, but the coach almost lost him to Chiefs in the January transfer window, if it wasn’t for a late change of heart by the Glamour Boys.
“The little that I know it was very, very close,” he told Robert Marawa on his MSW radio show.
“It was literally last minute that Kaizer Chiefs opted not to go through with the deal but I don’t know the exact details behind that.
“The player himself had already been informed, I knew about it myself. I knew about both [Kaizer Chiefs and Sekhukhune].”
Tinkler also explained why he wouldn’t have stood in the way of Mdantsane’s move, even if it meant he would’ve lost a quality player.
“I’ve been at Cape Town City right from the start, back in 2016 and we’ve always had a believe that we’ll never stand in the way of a footballer bettering his life,” he added.
“As much as I can be a selfish coach, wanting all the best players in order to achieve my objectives. But you don’t want to stand in the way of a player achieving greater things and securing obviously a future for himself after football.
“Fact of the matter is, those clubs Chiefs, Pirates, Sundowns, those are targets for the players to go. Those are big clubs that obviously can pay the players quite substantial amounts of money to sustain themselves.
“I’ll never stand in the way of that happening. Obviously, you don’t want to be losing some of your best players, but I’ve accepted that and I’ve always believed that there will be another Mdantsane out there that we can look to find.”
Mdantsane has made 99 appearances for City, scoring 19 goals and setting up seven more since joining the club on a free transfer after his exit from Baroka.
