Mamelodi Sundowns left-back Lyle Lakay looks set to join his former club Cape Town City before the transfer window shuts on Thursday.
The 31-year-old was left out of the matchday squad against AmaZulu on Saturday afternoon while new signing Terrence Mashego was named on the bench, ironically, signed from the Citizens in a reported R10-million transfer as he signed a lucrative five-year contract.
It marks an incredible change in fortunes for the reigning Premier Soccer League (PSL) Defender of the Season, whose form earned him a place in the Bafana Bafana squad that faced Guinea and France in March this year.
Having signed a new contract last season, Lakay won’t be leaving permanently, but on loan for the 2022/23 season, iDiski Times has reliably been informed.
With Lakay acknowledging the situation will see his chances of regular football limited, he’s expressed his desire to make the move to the Citizens where he’s guaranteed of playing CAF Champions League or CAF Confederation Cup football, should they lose in the final play-off against Petro de Luanda next month.
“We’ve welcomed Terrence, we’re happy to have him but at the same time we know we can’t have too many players, the biggest business for Mamelodi Sundowns now is how do we trim the squad, who do we let go of,” coach Rulani Mokwena said at Loftus Versveld on Sunday when asked about having several options within the squad.
Mokwena went on to state that the signing of the Bafana Bafana defender was not due to a decline in performances of any left-back in the squad but rather taking the chance to secure Mashego when he’d become available in the market.
The move is set to be confirmed before the transfer window shuts on Thursday evening as Lakay returns to his home town and the club he represented between 2017 and 2018.
