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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
CASTLE Lager Premiership football giants CAPS United are close to bringing back home midfielder Blessing Sarupinda on a loan deal as they seek to turn around their fortunes in the second half of the season.
The 23-year-old midfielder is desperate for football action after experiencing a frustrating stint in South Africa in the last 10 months.
The Warriors trialist was signed by DStv Premiership newcomers Sekhukhune United last September but he only made four appearances before he was shipped out to second tier side JDR Stars where he also featured four times.
But Sarupinda’s woes could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for his former paymasters, CAPS United, who are currently struggling to get results in the Castle Lager Premiership.
The youthful midfielder made his name at Makepekepe before the move to South Africa last year. The Green Machine president Farai Jere confirmed to The Herald that Sarupinda was coming back on loan.
Jere was also excited Makepekepe have signed experienced winger and dead ball specialist Ali Sadiki to beef-up their attack.
The club is still hunting for a defender to bolster their backline in the second half of the season.
“We don’t need a lot of players in that team,” said Jere.
“We know the areas that we lack and we are discussing with Blessing Sarupinda’s team.
“He was not playing so the boy wants to come back and get the opportunity to play more. Of course, he is still contracted and the team wants to send him back here on a loan so that we will now be paying his salaries.
“The other one is Ali Sadiki. He is here, he is training with the team. Those are the two players which we are bringing in. Mind you, it’s not an issue of signing many players, that is not what we want to do. It’s about motivating those that are there because we know they can do the job,” said Jere.
Jere said he was impressed by the qualities of the two players. Sadiki last played local football for reigning champions FC Platinum before moving to Kabwe Warriors of Zambia.
Previously he had played in the Democratic Republic of Congo for continental giants TP Mazembe and their feeder team CS Don Bosco.
CAPS United ended the first half of the season on 12th place in the log standings after garnering 17 points from as many games.
The team needs to respond in a big way after experiencing a disappointing run which saw them losing six games on the trot just before the mid-season break.
The dip in form has been attributed to many factors and Jere believes Makepekepe are a competitive outfit.
“We’ve got a good team. We’ve got players in every position. They just need to be motivated,” said Jere.
However, Sarupinda’s return should mark a disappointing turn in his promising career. Already the player suffered the ignominy of being off-loaded by Sekhukhune United just six months after joining the Gauteng-based side and playing only 169 minutes of Supa Disk football.
He had barely spent four months at second-tier First National Division JDR Stars before the talks opened for the loan move back to the Green Machine.
At some point in his fledgling career, the 23-year-old was strongly linked with a tantalising move to Portugal.
The midfielder travelled to Europe at the beginning of 2020 for a three-week trial period with Portuguese third Division club Sporting Clube Olhanense but a move could not materialise following the outbreak of Covid-19. The Aces Youth Soccer Academy graduate promised so much last year and was a member of the Zimbabwe national team for the COSAFA tournament and the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
CAPS United are set to afford him an opportunity to relaunch his career.
Online Reporter