Stellenbosch FC CEO Rob Benadie has addressed the rumours surrounding the club's left-back, Fawaaz Basadien, who is said to have submitted a transfer request to join Kaizer Chiefs.
Chiefs have had two offers for Basadien turned down by the Cape Winelands club, which appears unwilling to part with the 27-year-old versatile player.
Despite reports of the player's desire to move to Naturena during this transfer window, Benadie has emphasised that Basadien has maintained a professional demeanor, and the club is resolute in their intention to retain him.
He pointed out that Basadien's recent performance, scoring in both of the last two matches, serves as a testament to his professionalism.
DID BASADIEN HAND IN TRANSFER REQUEST? STELLENBOSCH CEO RESPONDS
“Fawaaz is a consummate professional, yes there’s an offer from Kaizer Chiefs [but] we improved his contract recently,” said Benadie.
“He’s still contracted to Stellenbosch Football Club. And we want to keep him, he is a fantastic player, we don’t want to go backwards with our squad.
“We want to continue and do similar type of performances as we did last year.
“So, Fawaaz is very important to us, he knows that, he understands that.
“There will always be pressure from the press and from other clubs for a lot of our players because we are doing so well now.
“But I trust in Fawaaz as a player, as an individual to be the professional that he is. And we have seen that in the past two games, haven’t we?”
Benadie stated that Stellenbosch aim to retain their remaining players during this transfer window, having already bid farewell to several key individuals.
They have transferred Iqraam Rayners to Mamelodi Sundowns and Deano Van Rooyen to Orlando Pirates.
BENADIE – ‘WE HAVE ALREADY LOST SOME IMPORTANT PLAYERS’
“There’s a number of players not just at our club but at other clubs also because the transfer window is open for so long, which is really unsettling,” he continued.
“At least we are playing games, other clubs aren’t playing games.
“They have to wait without playing games and transfer speculation on their players and so on.
“At least we are playing, that makes it a little bit easier for us. But also, it’s more opportunities for other clubs to see our players playing so well.
“And it’s gonna go to the last day of the transfer window but we’re quite steady on a certain number of players.
“We have already lost some of the important players as you know. Some of them, it was unavoidable.
“So, you’re asking about Fawaaz, we don’t want to lose Fawaaz, we will do our utmost best to keep him here and keep him happy.”
