We can say goodbye to George

Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter—-
TOP South African side SuperSport United have tabled an offer for Dynamos goalkeeper George Chigova who caught the attention of many scouts with his excellent performance for the Warriors at the recent CHAN tournament. The former South African Premiership champions have started the process to bring Chigova across the Limpopo to join dozens of other Zimbabwean footballers plying their trade in Super Diski.

SuperSport want Chigova to join them when Matsatsansa start their pre-season preparations for the 2014-2015 season, which means that the big ’keeper could remain at his local club and then move to South Africa in July.

Although all the parties in the deal were keeping a tight lid on the matter, The Herald can reveal that an offer has been tabled by SuperSport United for the transfer of Chigova from Dynamos in July this year.

The DeMbare leadership had sight of the offer tabled by the South African side yesterday, but they will have another look at it and discuss with the player and his manager before any agreement could be reached.

Although SuperSport United want Chigova to come in July, they believe they should tie him to a pre-contract deal now because they feel other clubs, including some with deeper pockets, could come knocking on the ’keeper’s door in the next few months.

Chigova was one of the outstanding Zimbabwean players during their brave campaign at the 2014 CHAN finals where the Warriors defied the odds to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.

The big ‘keeper only conceded once, right up to the semi-finals, and was only beaten for the second time in the third-place play-off when the Warriors finally crumbled under the pressure of playing with 10 men for long periods in their tie against Nigeria.

Chigova’s manager Danford Mutashu and Dynamos yesterday chose to keep their cards on their chests, which isn’t surprising, given that these are still the early stages of the proposed marriage and they also want to keep their options wide.

What is possibly very clear is that the heavily-built 22-year old shot stopper is unlikely to last the whole season in Zimbabwe as it emerged that there is interest emanating from as far afield as Belgium.

The Herald is reliably informed that Supersport United who have been monitoring Chigova and three other Zimbabwe national team players during the CHAN tournament want to stay ahead of the competition and have made their move with the July window in mind.
Mutashu yesterday could only confirm that Chigova was being monitored by South African and European clubs.

The manager, however, said he would not release details of the offers they were getting for the big goalkeeper.
“What I know is that there have been enquiries for him from one or two reputable clubs in South Africa and Supersport is not one of them,” said Mutashu.

“If they have tabled offers maybe they could have communicated directly with the club and I should have known about that.
“But George, as it stands, is still contracted to Dynamos.

“There may be challenges here and there but that is not a basis for a rushed move. Our hope is that he stays there and gets more game time to build a strong foundation for his career before making any move.

“In fact, he should play in the Champions League with Dynamos this year. He needs that experience as a player. Age is still on his side and there is no need to rush things.”

The manager said he wanted the player to be at a club where he plays regularly, something that DeMbare guaranteed.
“The reason why he was called to the national team in the first place was because of the game time he got at the club and it has helped him a lot,” said Mutashu.

“It’s not safe to go where game time is not guaranteed.
“Everywhere in the world players were moving during the recent transfer window mainly in search of game time. That’s the best way to develop as a player. We want the best for George.

“But given the opportunity, we would fancy that he goes to play in Europe, although South Africa is also good. We have received enquiries from some European clubs as well but nothing concrete.

“I wouldn’t want to pre-empt which team or which country but Belgium could be one of the destinations.”
Dynamos secretary-general, Webster Chikengezha, said they had not received an offer from Supersport but confirmed that a number of South African clubs were knocking on the doors.

“There are quite a number of clubs that have shown interest in our players, not only George but others like Partson Jaure and Tawanda Muparati as well.

“But nothing is concrete, unless we get an offer and someone is serious about discussing a contract,” said Chikengezha. Chigova still has a several months remaining on his contract at Dynamos, which is set to expire in December, and yesterday the club’s officials were locked in a meeting with Mutashu to review the deal.

“We met with the Dynamos executive today (yesterday) to discuss the contract issues. He signed a two-year agreement last year and it’s in the contract that when the first year lapses we have to sit down again and review terms for 2014.

“That’s what we did today although we did not finalise everything,” said Mutashu.