Amid reports that Al Ahly want Masandwana’s skillful player, the club legend shared his thoughts on the nippy midfielder
Amidst media reports that Mamelodi Sundowns could lose creative attacker Gaston Sirino, Joel Masilela is confident the Tshwane giants could find a suitable replacement for the 29-year-old.
‘Fire’ is confident that coach Pitso Mosimane has a solid foundation in his technical team and the fact that he’s surrounded by experienced scouts means he will find the Uruguayan’s replacement.
News reports surfaced a few weeks ago that the man known as ‘AMG’ is being courted by Egyptian giants Al Ahly and a club from Saudi Arabia, but Masilela explained why it’s too early for the skilful midfielder to leave the Premier Soccer League (PSL) giants.
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“I think players come and go…you can’t stop players from leaving the club. If the likes of Al Ahly come and agree on terms with Sundowns then you can’t stop a player,” Masilela told Goal.
“Sundowns is a club that doesn’t close doors for players if they want better deals in their careers.
“If Sirino wants to leave as well, he can go and we will look for other good players just like we did to bring him here in the PSL.”
The former Masandawana winger also reflected on the club having lost the likes of Bongani Zungu, Keagan Dolly, and Percy Tau, adding that a good network of scouts can help to replace the nippy midfielder.
“Sundowns have lost good players before and it’s not something new or a train smash. We’ve got a solid foundation at Sundowns and a good network of scouts,” he added.
“I think if Sirino was to leave, we won’t struggle but I don’t think he must leave now. I think for me, it’s too early for him to leave now. I would like him to stay and finish this season or maybe stay one or two seasons then he can leave.“
Speculation in Cairo is that the Red Devils have put aside a whopping R47 million to secure the South American playmaker’s signature.
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On the other hand, the Brazilians’ mentor has just signed a four-year deal extending his stay at Chloorkop until June 2024, and ‘Jingles’ might not want to allow one of his key players to leave the reigning PSL champions.
Although the PSL season is halted because of the coronavirus pandemic, Sirino was banned for two matches for assaulting SuperSport United’s duo in Clayton Daniels and ex-captain Dean Furman.
In addition, the two-time PSL and Telkom Knockout Cup champion has found the back of the net 11 times whilst registering seven assists in 32 matches across all competitions for Sundowns this term.
