MASERU — South African First Division side, Maluti FET College, are threatening to pull out of a deal to sign Likuena players Thapelo Mokhehle, Mohau Kuenane, and Tšepo Lekhoana over the transfer fees.
The club feels Lesotho’s teams are trying to hold them to ransom by inflating the price of the players.
Thapelo Tale who has also impressed Cape Town Santos is facing the same dilemma.
His dream move to the South African First Division is also in danger of falling apart.
According to sources within the Free State college side, Lioli are demanding M100 000 for their long-time first choice goalkeeper Kuenane.
This paper has been informed that Maluti FET College coach, Morena Ramoreboli, is keen to add the services of Kuenane and Mokhehle to his team and wants to extend the loan deal of Lekhoana.
Lekhoana on the other hand remains a Likhopo player despite having been in the books of Maluti last season where he helped the club gain promotion to the First Division.
This paper has also learned that Likhopo has requested M50 000 as a loan fee for the whole of the 2013/14 for the services of the highly rated striker.
Maluti feels the transfer fees are too much for a college team that just won promotion to the First Division.
Likhopo team manager, Qamako Mahao, admitted to this paper that they are having problems agreeing a transfer fee with the two South African sides for the services of the two players.
As for the deal to transfer Tale to Santos, he said the player failed to tell the former South African champions that he is contracted to Likhopo. “What I can tell is that we always have an interest of both the club and the player when it comes to such situations,” Mahao said.
He said Likhopo had invested a lot in Tale and it is important that team gets something out of the deal so that they can continue to produce similar players of his calibre.
Mahao further said the problem started when Tale told Santos that he was a free agent despite having a three-year contract with Likhopo.
“This is an insult to me as the manager of the player because I oriented his return back home after a spell in Serbia and we have always supported him as a team,” he said.
He said it is also a disgrace to the league and local football that South African teams can come in the country and want to take players of Tale’s quality for free.
“A lot of monies were invested in these players from the development stages and it is only fair to the teams to get payment so that they can produce other players of the same quality,” said Mahao.
“Let me tell you for the sake of the players we agreed to release them to these teams,” he said. Both Lioli and Bantu told the Lesotho Times that they have tabled what they feel are the correct values for the players.
Bantu’s communications and marketing manager, Bokang Phasumane, said his team would not stand in the way of Mokhehle if he wants to pursue his career in greener pastures.
“We have tabled what we feel meets the talents and experience of the player, but will be meeting the management of the Free State team to finalise the transfer,” Phasumane said.
“They are happy with what they have seen from the player and he is also looking forward to playing for them in a better league.”
