In a bizarre player announcement, Kaizer Chiefs unveiled the number three jersey of Erick Mathoho, and the not the player himself, at their press conference in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Marketing director of Kaizer Chiefs, Jessica Motaung, said she had one more surprise for the gathering after new signings Morgan Gould, Siboniso Gaxa, Kgotso Moleko, Brilliant Khuzwayo, Sakhile Hlongwa and Siyabonga Nkosi stepped up on stage.
In response to questions as to why the player was not present – as it seemed clear he had signed with the club – Motaung clarified the situation.
“I'm introducing a jersey, I'm not introducing a player. It's just a jersey,” Motaung said.
“Potential is something that we are aiming for. Sometimes in the universe you have to put it out there to get it. It's a jersey, not a player.”
The deal between Bloemfontein Celtic and Chiefs for Mathoho is nearly finalised, according to Motaung, despite interest from other clubs.
“It's a work in progress. You know in football we're negotiating, we have agreed terms with the player,” she said.
“We've been speaking to the player, but we haven't dotted the i's. We have to finalise a few things.
“It's been a very interesting scenario – the hunger from the top three teams of this country – but If you look at it, we're (Chiefs) the ones that have been at the forefront, we've been very clear.
“One of the great things is that the player is adamant and confident he wants to be at Kaizer Chiefs.”
Motaung stopped short of saying that Chiefs would pay more than any other club for the player.
“It's been very clear that Kaizer Chiefs has invested this season, you can see with the amount of (new) players we have here,” she said.
“This deal is not just about the money, and that must be put on the table. It's about a lot more.
“We have to make sure we're the winners in this and he (Mathoho) ends up wearing the Kaizer Chiefs jersey.” – Sapa