Moorosi Tsiane
SOUTH African DStv Premiership side, Golden Arrows, has decided against signing Bantu and Likuena defender, Bokang Sello who has been trialling with the side last December.
Sello travelled to South Africa last year to try his luck with Chippa United but the move didn’t materialise and he ended up catching the eye of Golden Arrows.
Arrows chairperson Mato Matlala began the negotiations with Bantu president Leuta John Leuta early last month and the two parties agreed on a M150 000 transfer fee.
According to Leuta, he had already signed and returned the contract to Arrows, who had said the deal would be completed once Sello was issued with a Lesotho police clearance.
The left footed defender came back home from KwaZulu Natal shortly before Christmas to get his clearance but to his surprise, he was informed that the club was no longer signing him when he returned to camp.
Leuta said he was shocked by the developments as Arrows coach, Mandla Ncikazi, had previously expressed his keenness to sign Sello.
“I really don’t know what is happening because one moment the technical team was happy to have his services and another moment, they are all no longer interested in the player,” Leuta said.
“I was in contact with the Arrows coach and he was happy with Sello. He is the one who indicated that we should start negotiations with Mato (Golden Arrows chairperson). However, I was surprised when Mato later informed me that the coaches were no longer interested in the player.”
Leuta believes Sello’s situation was made complex by the unavailability of a player agent which made it difficult to negotiate his contract.
“He is still our player and was registered to play for us this season, so he will return to the team. The lack of a player agent made it difficult for him. It is always difficult to negotiate with South African teams without a player agent. However, we had been assured that the deal would sail through and we are shocked by the latest developments.
“I have since been told that the club would want to sign Sello next season and that is confusing because if he had the qualities they were looking for as the coach had said, then they should have signed him. This is a difficult situation and there is no doubt that such an experience might affect his performance, so we will have to help him recover from this ordeal mentally,” Leuta said.
Sello could not be reached for his comment as his mobile phone kept on ringing and cutting before we go to publishing.
