Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
WARRIORS vice-captain Marshall Munetsi set a new benchmark for Zimbabwean players after his deadline day move to English Premiership side Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee believed to be around €20 million, eclipsing all the previous transfer records for the country’s stars abroad.
Munetsi, who was among the players to dominate the transfer news on deadline day, is now the most expensive Zimbabwean player after shattering Tino Kadewere’s €15 million fee to French Ligue 1 side Lyon from second-tier outfit Le Havre in 2020.
Zimbabwe captain Marvelous Nakamba was also involved in a big-money move when he joined Aston Villa from modest Belgian outfit Club Brugge for a deal worth around €12 million a few years back.
Now Munetsi has eclipsed that record.
Munetsi was called for a medical yesterday after the two clubs had agreed on the transfer deal, which will reunite him with former teammate at Reims Emmanuel Agbadou, who was also dispatched to Wolves for a similar €20 million fee.
However, the figure represented a significant turnaround for the Zimbabwean midfielder, who just two years ago was valued at around €5m by the respected football website, Transfermarkt.
Munetsi emerged as the Wolves’ prime target on the transfer deadline day as Vítor Pereira’s side has been working on improving their midfield in this window following a difficult outing in the current English Premier League campaign.
Wolves are also home to another Warriors international, Tawanda Chirewa, who is back at the club after a loan spell at Derby County.
Chirewa, an attacking midfielder who has been a regular member of Warriors coach Michael Nees squad, was loaned out to Derby County from Wolverhampton Wanderers for the 2024/25 season.
However, Derby County ended the loan early due to injuries, and Chirewa returned to Wolves in January 2025.
Another player of Zimbabwean heritage — striker Leon Chiwome — is also on the Wanderers books.
But it is the arrival of Munetsi at Molineux that adds to the number of Warriors in the English Premiership, widely regarded as the world’s best league at the moment.
Wolves moved out of the bottom three at the weekend following their 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
Munetsi was set to replace midfielder Mario Lemina, who was also set to go the other way after agreeing to a €2.5 million move to Turkish giants Galatasaray.
The Gabon international started the current season as Wolves’ captain and had just won Supporters’ Player of the Season for 2023/24.
But the captaincy appeared to weigh heavily on Lemina at Molineux. His performances suffered, and fans saw some emotional outbursts from the 31-year-old, and the scuffle with Jarrod Bowen then cost him the captaincy.
Munetsi has been touted as the best replacement, despite coming at a cost of about 10 times the Gabonese international.
It has been quite the journey for Munetsi, which could lead to the Premier League after only making the move to European football just under six years ago.
He has been a consistent performer at Stade de Reims, where he got a contract extension up to 2026 be-fore his initial deal had lapsed in 2024.
As well as establishing himself as a household figure in the French top-flight league, the midfielder has made his presence known in Europe, rising as one of the best in Europe’s top five leagues in several areas.
He has performed consistently for the French club, playing both in midfield and sometimes in defence.
FBref reported Munetsi as ranking in the top six percent of midfielders in Europe for his rate of aerials won per 90, averaging 2.10.
The report also compares Munetsi to four current Premier League stars statistically, comparable to Tomas Soucek, Joelinton, Ryan Yates, and Mikel Merino.
Munetsi arrived at Stade de Reims from South African Premiership giants Orlando Pirates in 2019 and has been a regular for the club since then.
He has made 21 appearances in all competitions this season.
Munetsi began his football career at Ali Sundowns Academy in Mabvuku.
He was later nurtured by Harare-based Friendly Academy.
Locally, he featured for the now-defunct Blue Rangers in the domestic Premiership when he was a teenager.
He then made his breakthrough when he signed for South African side FC Cape Town in 2015, and the following year was snapped up by former African champions Orlando Pirates, who initially loaned him to fellow Supa Disk side, Baroka.
His breakthrough move to Europe came in 2019 when he joined Stade de Reims from Pirates.
