The former Bafana Bafana boss appears resigned to the fact that he might not be reunited with his top transfer target
Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane says he might need to look elsewhere or just leave things as they are after Mamelodi Sundowns closed negotiations with the Cairo giants on the possible transfer of winger Gaston Sirino.
Talks collapsed after Sundowns could not climb down from the €5 million (R89 million) price they insisted for Sirino’s departure while Al Ahly are not prepared to meet that figure.
Discussions between the two sides have reportedly been dragging on for the past two seasons since Mosimane was still at Downs.
Al Ahly’s interest in the player grew following the arrival of Mosimane in Cairo but the coach now appears to be throwing in the towel in his pursuit of the Uruguayan he brought to Sundowns from Bolivian Primera Division side Bolivar in January 2018.
“This is the current situation and we need to deal with it. We may need a replacement and we may not. Mohamed Sherif is doing his job and we trust him,” Mosimane said according to Egyptian football website King Fut.
“If we find a player with special abilities before the Club World Cup, why won’t we sign him? We need two players with special characteristics.
“I need these two players to find replacements for Hussein El-Shahat and Afsha [Mohamed Magdy]. I have Taher Mohamed, but he is very unlucky and played a great game today before his injury.”
While Al Ahly are not ready to meet Sundowns’ price tag on the 29-year-old, the African champions are reportedly enticing the player with an attractive personal deal.
Reports from Egypt suggest that Al Ahly are prepared to double Sirino’s current salary and splash a hefty signing-on fee for him.
Faced with the possibility of earning big money in Egypt, Sirino appears to have grown frustrated with Downs for not yielding to Al Ahly’s pressure.
The player is believed to have skipped Monday’s training to push for a move to Cairo although Sundowns deny that his absence was a protest action.
Sirino who extended his Downs contract by a further five years in June 2020, is yet to feature in a Premier Soccer League match this season.
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