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Tadious Manyepo

Sports Reporter

FC PLATINUM coach, Henrikus Pieter De Jongh, says he is unaware that his star forward, Silas Songani, is on the verge of completing a move to Sudan.

The Zimbabwe international forward, who returned home after a long stay in Europe, only played one match for the Zvishavane giants.

He is due to complete a medical to join Sudanese giants, Al Hilal.

But, De Jongh, said he was unaware of the deal.

“Songani’s (Silas) deal is not yet concluded, in fact, I am not aware of it,’’ the Dutchman said.

“But, what I can tell you is that Songani is in the top three of our best players.

“He is one player who can change the complexion of the game.

“I hope we retain him but if he is going then, well, we will need to once again look at the market and see who we can bring aboard. 

“Songani is the only player we have with European experience and we were banking on him to bring the much-needed balance to the team.

“If we are going to lose him then it’s sad and it means we should start looking at the possible options.

“What we would need is a player who plays more or less like Songani.”

Songani featured for the Zvishavane club in the Castle Challenge Cup final where he was the hero as his brace helped them beat Highlanders at Barbourfields in March.

“I tell you, Silas is almost irreplaceable,’’ said the Dutchman. “He is a good player and is definitely a huge part of our CAF Champions league campaign.

“It will be a blow, a huge blow, if he goes but such is football.

“We can only work on what we can control.

“At the moment, we need to start training as a team and build a strong squad for the CAF Champions League.”

The Dutchman also has to find the right replacement for midfielder, Last Jesi, who has moved to Sudan.

He joined Al Hilal, after playing only two CAF Champions League games, for the Zvishavane side.

With only two months, before the Champions League, De Jongh finds himself having to fast track his hunt for placements.

“What I can tell you, right now, is that we are looking for a player to replace Jesi (Last).

De Jongh said the hunt for Jesi’s replacement is almost complete but the identity of the player coming in will be revealed when the deal is complete.

“Yes, there are possible players coming in and we have almost finalised on the potential replacement for Jesi but, look, we will only talk about the identity of the player once its official.

“Nothing has been finalised yet but we are definitely on the way.”

FC Platinum will get their 2020-2021 CAF Champions league underway in November.