Cape Town City mum on new signing
Cape Town City chairman John Comitis says he has already found a replacement for former skipper Robyn Johannes, who has joined Gavin Hunt's Bidvest Wits.
John Comitis, Chairman of Cape Town City (Chris Ricco/BackpagePix)
“I’ve signed a player from North Africa. He is a centre-back who has been playing in Europe and I will only disclose the details in about two weeks’ time,” Comitis told Phakaaathi.
City showed interest in outgoing Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Brilliant Khuzwayo last year, but Comitis has since revealed that the 28-year-old is too expensive.
“We discovered his wage package is beyond our capacity and we did not pursue him,” he said.
Comitis also put to bed speculation that his club was keen to bring Khama Billiat on board, although he did say he would love to have a player of Billiat’s calibre in their ranks.
“I haven’t approached Khama Billiat at all, he has not been on my radar. We had the understanding he was on his way to somewhere else and he had made up his mind so we did not bother at all,” said Comitis.
In summing up the season, where City finished in fifth in the Absa Premiership and reached the MTN8 final, only to lose to SuperSport United, Comitis was pleased with Ayanda Patosi’s (right) performance.
Despite some criticism from head coach Benni McCarthy, Patosi finished as the club’s top scorer with six strikes to his name. Patosi had problems with his weight and was subsequently put on a special programme to shed that weight – he is set to continue with that programme throughout the off-season.
“He is actually very good with the programme … he has been doing light training during the off-season so we have a very focused programme to bring him to his best fitness,” said Comitis before praising another City player, Surprise Ralani.
“My goodness, he is very special, unbelievable, he has been really a marvellous player, we saw him doing what he does for us when he was in Europe. We are very excited to have him for the new season.”
