BONGANI MALUNGA
Township Rollers could be presented with a great opportunity to re-sign Zebras defender Mosha Gaolaolwe in the next transfer window. His current club TS Galaxy, through their owner Tim Sukazi, is actively in negotiations with ABSA Premiership side Bloemfontein Celtic to purchase their league status, if the deal goes through players’ contracts will be nullified to negotiate fresh terms that are of the standard of the PSL.
The Botswana trio of Gaolaolwe, Ezekiel Morake and Thero Setsile sought moves away from the club citing unsatisfactory wages. Setsile managed to move as he re-joined Jwaneng Galaxy while Gaolaolwe and Morake are still at TS Galaxy.
With new contract talks on the horizon, there is a possibility the talks could go either way as the players would be rendered free agents. Sukazi is expected to keep at least 70 percent of his core squad intact as reported by Gazette Sport last week, he regards Gaolaolwe as an important member of the squad but there is still a possibility that new contractual talks may not go as expected.
This could present Rollers, who have been credited with interest in the player, to sign the player on a free transfer as opposed to paying the R1.2 million price tag they were quoted in January when they tried to re-sign the player. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting local clubs’ finances the chance to sign a highly rated national team player on a free transfer would be appealing for Popa.
Contacted for comment, Rollers president Jagdish Shah told this publication that they would gladly make a move for Gaolaolwe if the opportunity ever presents itself. “For now we cannot be drawn into talking about a situation we do not have more information on. However, he is a very good player, he was our player, if he wants to come back then we would have to sit down and discuss a deal which would please both parties. That can only happen if he is a free agent, that way we can negotiate a deal with him if such an opportunity presents itself,” Sha briefly told Gazette Sport.
Meanwhile Sukazi was quoted by South African publication Soccer Laduma stating that once the Celtic buyout is completed the team will still be based in Mpumalanga. “TS Galaxy is not based in Bloemfontein and when we buy the PSL franchise of another team, we will convert into a PSL franchise of TS Galaxy. Now we are based in Mpumalanga and that will not change. The minute everything of the sale is done, the name and status will change to TS Galaxy, which is the condition of the sale. There is no South African fan or football lover who can expect me to wake up tomorrow wearing a different colour. I am the TS Galaxy president and our colours are red, that won’t change,” he told the South African publication.