daniel chigunwe
Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Premiership football champions Chicken Inn say they are ready to challenge for the honours this season after capturing their January transfer targets that include midfielder Richard Hachiro from CAPS United.
The Gamecocks, who have also brought in the likes of Malvern Hwata from Cranborne Bullets, Tawanda Zinaka from Bulawayo City and defender Itai Mabhunu from Talen Vision, are looking to complete their January spending with the signature of highly-rated midfielder Denzel Khumalo, who is on his way out of FC Platinum.
Talks between the midfielder and the 2015 champions are believed to be at an advanced stage. Khumalo, who turns 24 next Friday, was also being eyed by his former club Highlanders following the revelations that he wanted to end his two-year stint in Zvishavane.
Chicken Inn coach, Joey Antipas, was excited by the imminent deal with Khumalo. But it was the arrival of Hachiro that had Antipas buzzing.
Chicken Inn had mixed fortunes when the league kicked off late last year. They started off with a 1-0 win over Cranborne Bullets before losing 1-2 to FC Platinum.
“Definitely Hachiro will help solidify our midfield department which I think was lacking a bit. “We looked at many things before settling for his name, including his experience and exposure to top level football.
“Denzel’s deal also looks promising, I can say he is on the way to Chicken Inn. We have signed a couple more players and I feel we now have the personnel to compete (for the league title).
“Many teams have been busy strengthening their squads but we have been doing our transfer business quietly.
“The most important thing is that we did not go for numbers, but for quality. It will be exciting to see how it goes when the games return,” said Antipas.
Hachiro was part of the Warriors squad for the CHAN and COSAFA tournaments last year.
The midfielder was linked with a move to South Africa after news filtered through that he had crossed the border to attend trials at First National Division side Venda Football Academy.
But it turned out the 24-year-old has been in Bulawayo trying to engineer his move to the Gamecocks. Hachiro joined CAPS United in 2020 from Herentals.
However, he is one of the players that chose against renewing their contracts with Makepekepe at the end of last year.
Makepekepe’s loss will definitely be Chicken Inn’s gain. The midfielder is one of the key players that have abandoned the Harare giants at this early stage of the campaign after he decided against renewing his contract.
The other players that have left the Green Machine are Brandon Mpofu, Tafadzwa Jaravani, Webster Tafa, Carlos Mavhurume, John Zhuwawu and Tinashe Balakasi.
Defenders Munyaradzi Diro-Nyenye and Munyaradzi Kunyarimwe are among those still weighing their options and have missed the early part of the club’s training sessions.
Makepekepe regrouped on Monday. The Harare giants, who went through a difficult period in the last few months because of financial challenges, have been running around to put the club back on sound footing.
So far they have managed to convince some players to stay while they brought on board experienced hands William Manondo and Rodwell Chinyengetere.
Midfielder Devon Chafa and defender Denis Dauda are also expected to retrace their footsteps back to the Green Machine.
The club still have the core of their players that includes goalkeepers Tonderai Mateyaunga and Simba Chinani, Phineas Bamusi, Ian Nyoni, Ronald Chitiyo, Leeroy Mavhunga, Clive Augusto and Joseph Thulani in their ranks.
CAPS United vice-president Nhamo Tutisani was confident Makepekepe would rise from the challenges and be competitive.
“Of course, we have faced some challenges but we are working on our commercial plan to bring back stability to the club.
“We have allowed the coach to go out there and look for players that he wants while the leadership works on some of the outstanding issues,” said Tutisani.
Online Reporter