adminBIDVEST Wits have moved swiftly to avoid any potential repeat of last season’s goalkeeping crisis by signing Moeneeb Josephs.
The 33-year-old veteran, who has won 20 Bafana Bafana caps, penned a deal with the club yesterday, returning to the team where he spent two seasons from 2006 to 2008.
He signed a long term contract that is likely to see him complete his career at Wits.
He had been released by Orlando Pirates after losing his place in their first team last season.
Josephs has a new three-year deal that will take him past his 36th birthday, with the club having an option to extend it by two more years.
Josephs offers Wits stability after the injury crisis of last season during which the team used seven different goalkeepers, including summoning out of retirement the 45-year-old Andre Arendse.
A flurry of injuries meant they had to scramble for cover between the poles.
Josephs, who have more than 350 appearances since his debut as a teenager in 1997, is almost certain to be the first choice at the club for the coming season, ahead of Jackson Mabokgwane and the teenage pair of Steven Hoffman and Jethren Barr.
Wits have released Emile Baron and Ryan Harrison.
Meanwhile, South Africans are set to welcome Manchester City to the country on Thursday as the Premier League giants prepare for the first leg of their pre-season tour.
According to the Footbal411 website, the Citizens will arrive in Durban later this week, where they have opted to set up their base ahead of games against SuperSport United and AmaZulu.
Manuel Pellegrini will make his debut as Manchester City manager in Pretoria on 14 July against Premiership club SuperSport United.
The 2012-2013 English Premier League runners-up behind Manchester United face another top-flight team, AmaZulu, in Durban four days later, and will remain in Durban for a pre-season training camp.
The two games will raise funds for a charity of Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa, who is being treated in a Pretoria hospital for a recurring lung infection.-Sport24.
Online Reporter
derick.khumalo