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Did Kaizer Chiefs flush R40 million down the drain?
Kaizer Chiefs had tempting offers for their players over the winter but none of those turned into massive sales.
Chiefs kept Du Preez amid massive offers
According to Soccer-Laduma, Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes made an offer in the region of €2m (R40 million) for Ashley Du Preez. However, Chiefs couldn’t entertain offers for the former Stellies man before they could sign suitable replacements for the star.
“There was a strong desire to see him move to Europe, but the lack of a replacement has complicated matters. An offer of R40 million was reportedly on the table, which could have facilitated the signing of several quality strikers. However, without a guarantee of securing those targets, the move was halted. This has been a significant stumbling block. The interest was genuine, and it’s unfortunate that the deal didn’t materialize for both the club (Chiefs) and Du Preez. Nevertheless, there is still hope for a potential move in January,” said a source.
Du Preez’s stats
18 goals and seven assists from 68 appearances in a Chiefs jersey is only a slight upgrade on the 13 goals and eight assists he managed in 69 games for Stellenbosch. Given that there are better players creating chances around him, in theory at least, Du Preez has gone backwards.
The R10 million outlay hasn’t paid off
Ashley Du Preez is the joint-most expensive signing in Chiefs’ history. The €600k (R11.2 million) is equal to the sum paid for Morgan Gould (inflation-adjusted) back in the 2012-2012 campaign. Can the board justify that outlay, looking at Du Preez’s output in his two-and-a-half years at the club? The club might see now as a decent time to sell the striker, given his market value of €1m. However, they’re unlikely to get anything close to that from any local buyers. There were rumours that foreign buyers were in for the 27-year-old but no offers were accepted. If they don’t get similar offers again, they’ll regret it.
Nabi laments wastefulness
Speaking to the media in his post-match presser, Nasreddine Nabi implored his board to chase and sign better quality in the imminent January transfer window.
“Again, we are missing opportunities to score,” the Kaizer Chiefs tactician said.
“And at the end, we, we tried everything to put more power, more risk forward, and fortunately, we got the point.
“But we feel that we are very, very far from the level of a team like Kaizer Chiefs, and we need to work hard, we need to strengthen the team but we’re gonna do everything we can for the future games.
“The perfect gift for Christmas time will be players that can strengthen the team,” the Kaizer Chiefs boss concluded.
Did Chiefs make a mistake by not selling Du Preez?
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