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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter

DYNAMOS teenage sensation Bill Antonio has made the grade at Belgian top-flight football side KV Mechelen where he has been undergoing trials over the past three weeks, The Herald can reveal.

The 19-year-old Prince Edward Academy product was expected to return home yesterday following a fruitful assessment stint by the Antwerp-based side.

The talented winger has been starring in DeMbare colours, driving the Glamour Boys’ bid to reclaim past glory in the local Premiership football.

Through his agent, Pat Jefferson, the Belgian club, which share close links with Dynamos, invited him for trials.

And Antonio, who made his top-flight debut last year in the Chibuku Super Cup, appears to have grabbed the opportunity with both hands, having impressed his assessors at KV Mechelen.

The player, who has picked a single cap with the Warriors, was in explosive form during the trial period, scoring three goals in as many matches.

What even made the whole scenario unique is the fact that Antonio was thrown straight into the fray a day after his arrival in Belgium.

He never showed any signs of weariness and grabbed a wonder goal to put the icing on a glittering all-round performance.

He followed the fantastic showing with another top-drawer display in which he also scored in an improtu practice game arranged particularly for him.

So collected was the Dzivaresekwa Academy prodigy he never panicked even at the third time of asking, knowing the practice matches were being put together just to test him and dished even a better menu in the third game where he scored again.

KV Mechelen were reportedly left in awe with the sheer game intelligence and tactical awareness displayed by Antonio.

The team is reported to have communicated to the concerned parties that Antonio had passed the trials although they are expected to write a formal letter in due course.

Dynamos executive chairman, Isaiah Mupfurutsa, was not immediately available for comment yesterday but The Herald is reliably informed Antonio made the grade at KV Mechelen.

However, his signing for the European team will depend on whether his current employers Dynamos and KV Mechelen would have agreed terms.

The Belgian transfer window closes on September 3 and Antonio will pray the deal will be sealed before that date.

With his stay at Dynamos set to end this December and depending on a number of factors, the Belgian team might as well elect to have the Zimbabwean in their books in the next window which is in January 2023.

But that could as well narrow Antonio’s chances of realising his European dream and the hope by everyone involved is that the deal is secured before the September 3 deadline.

Jefferson wasn’t reachable yesterday but should the deal sail through, she would have etched her name in the history of Zimbabwean football as the first female agent from this country to be involved in that extraordinary transfer.

Jefferson is a private person whose social media presence is very limited but she is a barrister in England who has worked with top European academies and has a lot of contacts across top world leagues.

She spent a great deal of time in Zimbabwe where she was supervising Antonio on nutrition and general etiquette as she prepared him for European life.

Antonio, an ambassador of Kit Aid Charity, last month donated kits worth thousands of dollars to his former academy in Dzivaresekwa.

The DeMbare striker was supposed to have left for Belgium at the end of March but some logistical complications meant he couldn’t proceed with the mission.

The Wouter Vrancken’s side have close links with the Glamour Boys and have in previous instances made it clear they would be supporting Dynamos in every way possible.

Coach Tonderai Ndiraya is a beneficiary of the close links between the two teams having spent over a month attached at the Belgian club where he got access to modern coaching material two years ago.

DeMbare also received an assortment of equipment in 2020 to help the technical team implement a scientific approach to their methods from the same team.

And Antonio could just become the first player to break into team’s ranks if he, as widely expected, seals the deal this month.

Since making his top-flight bow as an 18-year-old schoolboy last year, Antonio has been a revelation and he is being touted as the next big thing to happen in the country.

After featuring in just eight games for Dynamos, Antonio had distinguished himself as someone who was good enough and former Warriors coach, Norman Mapeza, rewarded him with a call into the national team in a 2022 World Cup qualifier against neighbours South Africa in November last year.

Antonio did not start in that match which Zimbabwe lost 0-1 at the FNB Stadium but made a huge impression after coming on for Khama Billiat in the second half.

He even made the provisional squad for the African Cup of Nations held in Cameroon between January and February this year although he was dropped from the final squad which did duty at the continental football showcase.