AmaZulu are set to engage the camp of Phumlani Ntshangase to offer him a deal at the club, iDiski Times has learnt.
Ntshangase, out of all the other players that were being assessed by Usuthu during the off-season, is the only one left training with the club which indicates that they like what they are seeing.
Although it has infuriated Ntshangase’s camp to have been waiting for so long to put the deal on a white paper, it appears that the deal is coming soon.
Usuthu, since the departure of Makhehleni Makhaula to Orlando Pirates in the January transfer window in the second half of the last season, has struggled to find his replacement as he was the glue in that team by protecting the back four.
Former AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy even described him as a trigger man in the side, as he effortlessly broke the play and Siyethemba Sithebe was able to clean up in those second balls from those triggers, which their partnership led to the club finishing second in the 2020/21 season.
Usuthu coach Pablo Franco Martin, after his side picked up the first league win of the season when they beat TS Galaxy at the Moses Mabhida Stadium last week, however, said the decision doesn’t depend on him only but they are other people within the management who have to come to the party to conclude the terms.
“I like to talk about the players that are here with us, I don’t like to talk about someone else,” replied Cijimpi when asked by iDiski Times about the latest with Ntshangase.
“Ntshangase is still with us, doing a good job. But this is not only a question for the coach, there are many people involved in this signing, so I cannot tell you too much.”
Ntshangase, 28, alongside Ben Motshwari at Bidvest Wits, was outstanding in the double six pivot, winning the league title and the MTN8 under Gavin Hunt in the 2016/17 season.
In the following season, he added the Telkom Knockout as the now-defunct Clever Boys beat another defunct club, Bloemfontein Celtic in Durban.
Having spent five professional years at Wits, Ntshangase was also loaned out to SuperSport United and spent three years with Maritzburg United where he ended up being the captain of the side before leaving at the end of the 2021/22 season.
He joined Baroka later last season but left at the end of the season.
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During the off-season, he attempted to go back to Maritzburg, who have been relegated to the Motsepe Foundation Championship, featuring in the KZN Premier’s Cup, but left to train with Usuthu.
