Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has refuted reports that Sphelele Mkhulise and Peter Shalulile wanted to leave while confirming that Rushine de Reuck and Lebo Maboe asked for moves away.
Mkhulise was substituted in the 36th minute during Sundowns’ 4-0 win over Golden Arrows on Sunday when Shalulile replaced him and with the Namibian orchestrating the big win, it was concluded that the transfer talk would have been one of the factors for the former’s substitution.
However, his coach has since clarified that the change was tactical while confirming that the player is and has been very much part of the club’s plans.
“I can make it clear, I can take it even in my [own hands to tell you this] during the week I spoke with the team, so we clear the air and close that, there are no issues with Pitso or regarding a transfer on him,” said Cardoso.
Pitso & Peter were ‘never’ leaving
“Pitso is a player of the club, we like him so much, we trust him, he has been playing in the team, so we finished that, so there’s no more [speculation]. And also, there were also things said about me and Peter [Shaulile] that there’s talks.
“There’s nothing, nothing! What was done in the market inside the club was clearly done in the best interest of the club and the players, because many movements were not only our intention but also from the appeals we received from the players.
“That’s how the market should work and how a club should work, regarding the happiness of a football player – a football player is also a man and when he’s not happy because he’s not playing we should also respect that.”
The tactician then weighed in on the decisions behind De Reuck going to Maccabi Petah Tikvah and Maboe leaving the club for SuperSport United on six-month loan deals.
De Reuck & Maboe asked for transfers
“Regarding the happiness of a football player because he is also a man and when he is not happy, that he is not playing, we should also respect that. For example, Rushine clearly asked; ‘let me go I want to play’ and that is why we made a movement on him,” he added.
“Lebo also asked to go and play so that he can perform for us. The market is also a product of what we analyse regarding the satisfaction of the group, the club first of all, but also the players as individuals that we want to give steps in their careers in different ways.”
Sundowns were also busy in the market, bringing in Jayden Adams from Stellenbosch, Keanu Cupido from Cape Town City and Argentine Lucas Suarez in the January transfer window.
