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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE future of Warriors’ defensive midfielder Butholezwe Ncube and winger Talent Chawapiwa at South African Premier Soccer League side AmaZulu has been thrown into uncertainty following media reports that the duo may be shipped out of the Durban-based side.
AmaZulu, who made history by finishing second in the 2020/21 DStv PSL to clinch a Caf Champions League ticket for the first time ever, have reportedly started beefing up their squad for the continental safari and the Zimbabwean players, who did not feature prominently in the history-making campaign, are most likely to be released.
According to South African football publication Soccer Laduma, Ncube and Chawapiwa are among Usuthu players likely to be transfer listed alongside former Bafana Bafana 2010 World Cup poster boy Siphiwe Tshabalala and Ghanaian midfielder Samuel Darpoh, who didn’t play a single game in the 2020/21 season.
Tshabalala made just two appearances in their 0-0 draw against Maritzburg United on June 5 and came on as a second-half substitute in Usuthu’s 0-2 loss to Golden Arrows on December 16, 2020.
The 29-year-old Ncube has been in the books of Usuthu since 2016, making 102 league appearances, of which he started 88 matches and came from the bench 14 times during his stay in Durban.
In the just ended season, the former Tsholotsho FC midfielder made 16 league appearances, starting eight and coming from the bench eight times.
Unlike his countryman Chawapiwa, who failed to finish a match in all his six starts last season, Ncube, who has a year left on his contract, was only substituted three times from his eight starts.
Chawapiwa made 13 appearances from the bench.
Chawapiwa joined Amazulu from Baroka in 2019 on a three-year contract after snubbing Kaizer Chiefs, but has failed to live to make an impact. – @ZililoR
Online Reporter