Bafana Bafana defender Samukele Kabini has continued to attract interest around Europe after an impressive 12 months in Norway at Molde FK.
Kabini, 21, joined the Eliteserien club in March 2025 from TS Galaxy in a reported R15-million transfer, and emerged as a leading figure in their defencer, featuring 24 times, with two goals and four assists, featuring primarily as a left-back in a back four.
His form attracted the attentions of Hugo Broos and has been capped four times by the senior national team since making his against Mozambique last October.
iDiski Times previously reported there were offers from a Bundesliga club in January and now it has also emerged that Greek Super League giants Panathinaikos F.C. also failed in their mid-season pursuit of the promising talent.
Sources have confirmed that head coach Rafael Benitez viewed Kabini as a signing that could develop quickly into a first ream regular and moved swiftly due to the interest in Germany.
And after coming in with an opening bid of €850,000 (R16m) with add-ons, Molde informed he was not for sale but with talks continuing, they set their price at €2-million (R38m) incl. add ons which eventually saw the deal fall through in the closing days of the January window.
Kabini is now set to stay at the club until at least the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where he’s likely to form part of Broos’ squad in North America in June-July.
Story by Lorenz Kohler.
