JOHANNESBURG – Kaizer Chiefs have announced the signing of exciting diminutive midfielder Kabelo Mahlasela on a two-year deal from Bloemfontein Celtic.
The move is probably just what Amakhosi need in that department as there has been a cry for a player of this quality in coach Steve Komphela’s side – but they may have overpaid just a little in bargaining for his release by allowing Lorenzo Gordinho to go the other way in a loan deal for the next 12 months.
Mahlasela’s contract with Celtic would have run out at the end of the season, and he had reportedly told the Free State-based club that he had no intention to stick around or negotiate a new short term deal.
Chiefs, like they did in getting striker Leonardo Castro from Mamelodi Sundowns to officially join them this month even though he would have been a free agent in June, paid upfront to lure Mahlasela away from Celtic, with Gordinho as a sweetener.
In a brief statement announcing the latest transfer movements at Naturena, Amakhosi said further details about Mahlasela’s arrival would be revealed at a later stage.
He played in 12 of Celtic’s 14 Absa Premiership matches this season and helped them reach the final of the Telkom Knockout, a competition they lost narrowly to Bidvest Wits in a dull cup final last month at the Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu.
Gordinho on the other hand has endured a contrasting half a season at Chiefs, managing just six appearances before leaving – a downward spiral in comparison to the previous campaign where he played in 25 games and scored four goals, even earning a national team call-up. The loan deal suggests he is still in the club’s future plans, although the period means he will only return to Chiefs in January next year.
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