DURBAN – History shows that Ajax Cape Town know how to recognise genius and the club is predicting a bright future for Grant Magerman at Mamelodi Sundowns next season.
The midfield maestro is on his way to the Brazilians at the peak of his career.
Ajax chairman Ari Efstathiou is happy with the deal that he struck with Sundowns but feels that it would have been much better if they were campaigning in the elite league.
“Grant is probably the best prospect in South Africa at the moment in that position. He is an unbelievable player,” Efstathiou told the SA Football Journalists Association (Safja).
“Sundowns have been interested in him for maybe three years now and we’ve held on tight. I think we’ve done a good enough deal with Sundowns considering we are from the NFD, not the PSL.
“But I think it would have been a much better deal for us if we were campaigning in the PSL. We respect Sundowns. My relationship with (owner) Patrice Motsepe is very good. We help each other out and I’ve spoken to him in the last couple of weeks about us coming up and we might need to do more businesses. They will always keep that door open for us and we will do the same.”
Grant Magerman of Ajax Cape Town is on his way to Mamelodi Sundowns next season. Photo: BackpagePix
The Urban Warriors turned Magerman from a raw talent in to a superstar. The 23-year-old has represented South African junior national teams at the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cup.
“Grant will be a huge success for Sundowns. He is an unbelievably talented boy. He was very young a couple of years ago but has got married now and has a child. He has settled down and he is completely focused on doing well. He will be the hit of the season for Sundowns next season, I have no doubt,” Efstathiou added.
With Ajax closing in on a return to the Premier Soccer League (PSL), the Cape Town-based side have been linked with Sundowns duo Lucky Mohomi and Aubrey Ngoma.
“You’ll take any of the Sundowns players. The trick is whether they want to move from a club like Sundowns or not," Efstathiou said. “The second thing is whether you can maintain their salary base. Usually, they are out of range. We will always look for help, especially going back to the PSL.
“We must be careful that we don’t believe that we’ve got a strong enough squad to compete. I reckon we will need six to 10 players in some of the important positions. It will be a tricky type of arrangement to bring players from Sundowns to Ajax next season.”
Over the years Ajax have lost their best talent to Sundowns. Most of them have gone on to become stars, like Khama Billiat, Keagan Dolly, Rivaldo Coetzee and Mosa Lebusa.
“They are always interested but I wouldn’t tell you, would I? There’s no talks with Sundowns for any player at the moment. I can’t afford to do that anymore,” Efstathiou concluded.