ED AARONS

JOHANNESBURG - Siboniso Gaxa’s agent Glyn Binkin has blasted Mamelodi Sundowns for potentially scuppering his client’s chances of moving overseas.

The 26-year-old has finally returned to training with last season’s PSL runners-up after a self-enforced two-week strike because they reneged on an agreement to sell him after the World Cup.

A bid of just under R5-million from Belgian side FC Lierse was rejected earlier this month and, according to Binkin, Sundowns are deliberately standing in Gaxa’s way.

“Teams are making enquiries but Sundowns won’t give a price – it’s just the way they operate and it’s absurd,” he told Super Saturday Citizen.

“That makes it very hard to negotiate from my point of view because normally if I wanted to get a price for any player in the world, then all you usually have to do is ask their club.

“They told the player and anyone who cared to listen that they would not stand in his way but they are being very disruptive.”

Binkin added: “It’s very difficult and frustrating to see the career of a young player being scuppered like this.”

A statement on Sundowns’ website last month reiterated their commitment to sell Gaxa but described the offer as “significantly less than the transfer fees Sundowns has paid in the past for South African players”. However, Binkin also revealed that the club – who astonishingly haven’t sold any players since Ivorian Siaka Tiene joined St Etienne in 2005 – have also been making things difficult for Gaxa’s Bafana Bafana team-mate Katlego Mphela after turning down a R15-million offer from Birmingham City before the World Cup.

“They’ll be lucky to get half of that now because the market is so depressed. There’s also hundreds of free transfers available now and even more EU players who don’t require work permits so I really don’t understand why Sundowns are operating like this,” he said.

“The players have been given the opportunity but the club has stood in their way by refusing to even negotiate. They have to realise that the world football market is not a game, it’s business.”

With time running out before the start of the new domestic season in Europe, it remains to be seen whether either player will get to fulfil their dream of moving abroad. That would be a crying shame for two of the country’s best emerging talents and Binkin has called on Sundowns to act more responsibly in their transfer dealings – or face the consequences.

He said: “It’s not difficult to buy players if you have an open cheque book and the biggest budget in South African football. They just don’t seem to have the right people running the business side of the club.

“If I was going to advise a young player who was considering moving there then I would be saying it depends whether you want the money or if you want to develop your career.”

There was better news for another of Bafana Bafana’s World Cup squad as Bongani Khumalo returned from his trial with Tottenham Hotspur yesterday.

The 23-year-old SuperSport United captain linked up with Harry Redknapp’s side on their pre-season tour of the US and is expected to be invited to London to continue training with the Champions League qualifiers.

“The indications I’ve had are that they are keen to see him again before he goes anywhere else. That will mean that he spends another week with them training in England so we’ll see what comes of it,” said Binkin.

“They’d seen Bongani before the World Cup and were impressed with how he fared. I’m not saying that he’s ready to get into the team but it would be good for his career to move at this early stage.

“It can take a while to get used to the differences between the two leagues but even spending a week with a coach like Harry Redknapp I think he would learn a great deal,” he added.