Moorosi Tsiane
MATLAMA’S speedy winger Lebajoa Mosehlenyane and defender Michael Mireku are tipped to part ways with the reigning Econet Premier League champions to join Linare.
Mosehlenyane, whose contract with Matlama ends on Sunday, will be re-uniting (should the move materialise) with his former mentor Freeze Ntene. The two worked together at the now defunct Mpharane Celtic before both joined Linare in 2013.
Mosehlenyane was an important member of the remarkable Linare team under Ntene that finished on third spot in 2013/14.
The Leribe born and bred player, who joined Bantu from Linare in January 2017, confirmed to this newspaper that Tse Tala has shown interest in signing him and he is considering taking the deal.
“Linare have shown interest in me and they approached me with a lucrative offer and I am considering it but until Sunday (30 June 2019), I am still Matlama player,” Mosehlenyane said.
“We have been in talks with Matlama but nothing concrete has come out of those talks for now but I will wait and hear what they have to say.”
Mosehlenyane said he would however, cherish a chance to re-unite with his former mentor.
“I have worked with Freeze before and we have a good understanding. It will be good to be back under his wing once again. Besides that, I have seen that Linare is busy on the market trying to revamp the team and I just want to be part of the process of bringing back joy to Leribe people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mireku also completed his move to Linare on Tuesday.
This follows a frustrating spell the Ghanaian endured at Tse Putsoa spending the whole season watching from the stands.
Mireku joined Matlama in the 2016/17 season from the now defunct Sandawana and was one of the stalwarts under the Mosito Matela regime. However, the hard tackling defender struggled to get his International Clearance Certificate at the beginning of the just ended season and was forced to watch from the sidelines with his center back position taken by youngster Rethabile Mokokoane, who also had a stellar season.
When his certificate finally came out in January, Mireku had already missed a lot of game time and Mokokoane had settled forming a solid combination with Lisema Lebokollane.
Mireku came second behind his countryman Patrick Nyago, who was the back-up to the Lebokollane-Mokokoane defensive pair.
Ntene confirmed the signing of Mireku and also admitted that he wants Mosehlenyane in his team.
“We are in a process of rebuilding this team and we are trying to get players whom we believe can do the job for us. We are in talks with Mosehlenyane while the Mireku deal has been completed,” said Ntene.
Ntene, who was the last mentor to take Linare to a top four finish in the league in the 2013/14 season, said they have to do things differently this season.
He said they still have more players with whom they are negotiating to join the team and they will soon announce their names once they the seal deals.
“We want to assemble a team that we know can perform and compete and we need to start by finalising the players’ deals as soon as we can so that when the pre-season preparations start, they will all be here so that we start together,” he said.
Ntene said they are mainly working to reinforce their attack and defence departments which have been lacking.
“We managed to retain our central defender Rethabile Rasethuntsa, who was on the verge of joining Kick4Life. Now we have Mireku, so the target is to reinforce our attacking options,” Ntene said.
Ntene also announced that they have also parted ways with Congolese striker Nzenze Nkulu whose contract was terminated due to indiscipline. He also accused the Congolese player of “demanding too much” without reciprocating on the field of play.
“I have said that we want to work with players who want to work and understand why they will be wearing the Linare badge. We have released Nzenze due to indiscipline.
“He was too demanding but his performance on the field of play was not at par with his demands. We want to build a team with players who are willing to work hard,” Ntene said.
