Kaizer Chiefs Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jr has confirmed that Amakhosi missed out on the signing of Khanyisa Mayo “by a couple of hours”.
Amakhosi have made seven signings already, but most of them are defensive additions to Nasreddine Nabi’s squad.
One of the players, who slipped through Chiefs hands, though, is Mayo, who ended up signing a lucrative deal with CR Belouizdad in Algeria – with Chiefs literally missing out by a few hours, as Motaung Jr confirmed.
“There was definitely serious interest and I think we also must credit Basia, for how professional she handled the whole situation. How transparent she was also,” he explained to Thabiso Mosia on Radio 2000.
“Also at the same time, credit to Mr. John Comitis because we had known from a couple of months ago already about the price-tag that was on Mayo’s head, and obviously we had gone and assessed what’s viable, does he fit into the squad?
“To be honest, Mayo was one of the names of the coach when the Turkey camp began. So we’d been working to see how we can make it possible. We engaged John. John was also very upfront about what the expected.
“When Basia came into the picture we made our intentions known, and I think we did just miss it by a couple of hours. Because we had reverted back and finally found a way forward to make the deal happen financially.
“I think the deal in Algeria had just been signed. [But] we met their asking price.”
When asked whether City’s asking price for Mayo was fair, Motaung Jr agreed and stated he believes the player could’ve had a big impact at Naturena.
“I think for a player of Mayo’s caliber, the DNA that he holds, with that surname, I think the profile and how we wanted to set up, he’s definitely a player that would’ve made a big impact,” he added.
“If you had to ask me, if it was the right value, that’s for the market to decide. But we met the price and made sure we go all out because we wanted to support the coach. Because the coach is clear about the kind of quality he wants.”
