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Christian Epoupa

Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
BIG Cameroon forward Christian Joel Epoupa might have set his sights on joining a South African club but such is the impact that he has made at Dynamos that the Harare giants are looking to break the bank and bring in more players from the West African nation.

Epoupa has been invited for trials by South Africa champions Bidvest Wits and was scheduled to leave yesterday from his home in Cameroon where he had gone for the Christmas holidays.

With Bidvest struggling to defend the title they have amassed just 11 points from 14 games, Gavin Hunt’s men are set to raid the market to try and boost their attack during the January transfer window and Epoupa has emerged one of the major targets.

Dynamos on their part have not folded their arms after conceding that they could not keep Epoupa from moving to the more lucrative ABSA Premiership.

DeMbare president Kenny Mubaiwa yesterday said the Glamour Boys needed to start scouting around for a possible replacement for Epoupa with their eyes firmly fixed on a crusade to West Africa in search of talent.

The Glamour Boys have placed an initial R200 000 price tag on the brawny forward who scored 12 goals in his debut season in Zimbabwe.

Mubaiwa confirmed that Epoupa is expected to start his trials soon after the holidays.

“According to the arrangements that have been made with the club, Epoupa should have left today straight from Cameroon where he had gone back home for the holidays.

“They said they would send the tickets from Cameroon and we had to let him go early and enjoy Christmas with his family before he can go for the trials.

“Obviously we would need a replacement for Epoupa if he goes. But I don’t think we will be targeting many big names either at home or from outside our borders.

“We have tried it with Zambia in the past and we had some good players but of late the players that we got from our neighbours have not lived up to expectations.

“So we don’t want to take any chances. But with Cameroon, yes. I think you all saw how good this guy is. No one knew about him when he came here but now everyone is talking about him.

“We have been talking with him and he has said he would link us with more players who are just as good as or even better than him. So we will try to work closely with Epoupa and his manager,” said Mubaiwa.

With the top scorer in such league like the Malawi top-flight — Mathew Sibale of Silver Strikers — finishing with 16 goals, Mubaiwa will no doubt feel vindicated in preferring to harness talent from West Africa now.

Sibale has also since been snapped up by Mozambique’s perennial Champions League campaigners Costa Do Sol.

Epoupa had a fine debut season with DeMbare and his talent has not gone unnoticed with the 24-year-old striker being linked with a number of cubs in the Supa Diski who also include Kaizer Chiefs, Ajax Cape Town and Polokwane City.

But Wits have backed up their interest by sending the air tickets for the player to come for trials. Yet Epoupa could stay a little longer at Dynamos should no deal materialise for him in the next month as he still has a year running on his contract with the Harare giants. There have also been indications that while South African clubs have shown interest in Epoupa, many claim that the price tag put on the striker by DeMbare is too high.

But such is the confidence in the Dynamos camp that a deal will be struck that they have resorted to try and tap from the same area where they mined Epoupa rather than look for strikers on the domestic market.

Dynamos and even champions FC Platinum have also resorted to looking for strikers elsewhere as local forwards have struggled to breach the 20 goal mark since Norman Maroto last scored 22 goals in 2010.

In the just ended season Premiership title sponsors Delta beverages having dangled a big carrot for any striker who struck 20 or more goals but the league’s Golden Boot award winner Dominic Chungwa of CAPS United fell three goals shy when managing 17 goals.

Indications from Epoupa’s management are that the big forward might still not kick a ball for DeMbare next season was there has also been interest reported from clubs in Germany and Belgium.

Apart from shifting their attention to Cameroon, Mubaiwa said Dynamos would hold trials again in January which will kick-start their pre-season build up for the 2018 season.

“We have the core of our team, we are hoping to retain most if not all the players. But from the trials we had last season, I think we have discovered something that we could not have figured out if we had not conducted those trials.

“There are some good players out there, with great potential but they haven’t made their names yet. We had a team of unknowns but look how they performed.

“So it’s not always about going for big names every time. Because of the experiences of the just ended Premiership season our coaches will have that opportunity once again to conduct trials before we start preparing for the next season. Who knows what we will find this time around?” said Mubaiwa.

Dynamos are also banking on coach Lloyd Mutasa’s eye for talented young players and with their resources limited, the Harare giants who have not won a Premiership tile since 2014 will be hoping to blend the youth they will unearth on the domestic front and the experience they could bring from West Africa.