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Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
HARARE giants Dynamos insist they had agreed terms with defender Gift Bello and had paid him his signing-on fees before he dumped them in favour of FC Platinum last week.
DeMbare secretary-general Webster Chikengezha yesterday said they felt Bello, who had been registered in the 25-member squad for the Champions League, did not act in good faith.
Bello sealed a two-year deal with FC Platinum at the weekend and was expected to begin work yesterday in Zvishavane much to the disappointment of the Harare giants who now feel that they wasted a slot in their Caf quota.
Chikengezha yesterday said they are not panicking since they have good replacements for the position but were unhappy with the player’s sudden change of mind despite agreeing a two-year extension to his deal.
“We respect his decision and as a club let it be known that it is not our policy to force players to play for Dynamos,” said Chikengezha.
“If one feels that he wants to make a move there are always channels of communication that should be followed.
“In Bello’s case we had agreed on everything and even deposited the signing-on fees into his bank account.
“He had insisted during the negotiations that he wanted all his dues paid up before he put pen to paper and we did that.
“But he requested that the signing-on fee be upped from what we had initially agreed and we were in the process of looking for ways to get everything sorted out when we heard that he had signed somewhere else.
“However, we have to recover the money that we had paid him and we will approach FC Platinum on the issue.”
Bello was not prepared to discuss the issue yesterday.
His departure, however, came at an inappropriate period when Dynamos were preparing for the Champions League preliminary round first leg tie against Mochudi Centre Chiefs of Botswana pencilled in for the National Sports Stadium this Sunday.
The 2013 Soccer Star of the Year finalist, often the unsung hero of the Glamour Boys through the seasons, had struck a chord with Partson Jaure in the heart of the De- Mbare defence but the club is not short of replacements as they also have Victor Kamhuka, Themba Ndlovu and Sydney Linyama.
Team manager Richard Chihoro said the players were given two days’ rest and will resume training tomorrow following a busy weekend when they played warm-up matches against Black Rhinos and How Mine.
Coach Callisto Pasuwa said eight other players who were in the national team at the CHAN tournament and were expected home last night will join their teammates tomorrow to put final touches into the preparations.
“We are happy with the way things have turned out so far. The major concern was fitness but after watching the two friendlies at the weekend I think we are getting there.
“The other players who were in South Africa will be with us when we resume training on Wednesday,” said Chihoro.
Their opponents Mochudi Centre Chiefs have no fitness concerns as their league is currently halfway through the season.
Chiefs have drawn their last two matches and are currently second in the BeMobile League race behind Madinda Ndlovu’s Township Rollers.
However, their coach, Dragojlo Stanojlovic, and his backroom staff should be worried following the goalless draw against Rollers at the weekend, which was preceded by a 1-1 stalemate against Gaborone United.
Chiefs are expected in the country on Thursday but sources from Botswana suggest that they could be coming on Saturday morning.
The club are also keen on a good outing during the Champions League although they were unable to make big-name signings during the transfer window.
Stanojlovic, however, managed to add Itumeleng Segwabe (21), a centreback from Bokaa United, and midfielder Ofentse Chitutu (24) from Paymaster Spurs to their squad.
Chiefs had been linked with three key players from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Don Bosco but the unsettled Jerome Ramatlhakwana, Phenyo Mongala and Dirang Moloi still have running contracts and are needed by the side for the Confederation Cup.
Online Reporter