Akpeyi sale ‘good move’
Chippa United chief operations officer Lukhanyo Mzinzi said the selling of their No 1 shotstopper Daniel Akpeyi to Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs was a good business move.
The 32-year-old Nigerian goalkeeper pinned down a contract with the Glamour Boys on Thursday, just hours before the Absa Premiership transfer window closed at midnight.
Mzinzi said it was best to sell the player now, because his contract with the Chilli Boys was coming to an end in six months.
“Chiefs made a very good offer to the club,” Mzinzi said on Thursday.
“We considered that Daniel is in his last six months of his contract. As much as he is one of our most consistent and valuable members, we could not let him go for free.
“We think we have made a good business move by selling him before his contract ends.
“We thank him for his loyalty to the club. Through him our club is known beyond South Africa, because he was one of the members for the World Cup squad for Nigeria.
“We also got some incentives through that. This is the second time now that we are getting an incentive through him in terms of selling him before this contract ends.
“We want to thank him and his family. We want to thank him for his professionalism, we wish him all the best for the future.
“We release him with a very open heart,” he said.
Akpeyi joined Chippa in 2015, coming from Warrior Wolves of Nigeria. Chiefs will be his second South African team.
The Super Eagles star was the only PSL player in the World Cup in 2018, which saw Chippa boss Siviwe Mpengesi bag a whopping R3.3m in December.
The selling of Akpeyi comes at a crucial time – Chippa are starting to get their mojo back, having accumulated two consecutive wins after a 10-league match winless streak.
However, Mzinzi said Chippa were spoilt for choice when it came to their goalkeeping department.
He said former Platinum Stars goalie Mbongeni Mzimela would take up where Akpeyi left off.
“We have a highly rated Mzimela, Veli Mothwa and a young upcoming goalkeeper [who] has been training with us,” Mzinzi said.
Meanwhile, Chilli Boys coach Clinton Larsen said getting a point away against Baroka FC would be a satisfying result for him.
The two sides do battle on Sunday at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane (3.30pm.)
“It’s not just about winning,” Larsen said.
“Draws and wins at this stage are so important to pick up points.
“That is the key for me. “Even if you go away and you get a point, it’s a good away point. Our next four games are make or break.
“We have two away games to Baroka and Free State Stars.
“Then we welcome Supersport United and Golden Arrows. So we have to use these four games to really get out of the bottom three at least.
“After these four we can then plan accordingly.”
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