DURBAN – Former Premier Soccer League (PSL) strikers, Edward Manqele and Moeketsi Sekola are on the verge of signing for the National First Division outfit, Royal Eagles.
Eagles missed out on promotion to the PSL via the play-offs last season as they finished second on the log.
General Manager at the club, James Dlamini confirmed that they are in talks with Sekola and Manqele.
"Yes, I can confirm that Manqele and Sekola are here with us. They haven't signed but we are still in talks with them," Dlamini explained.
Manqele rose to prominence during his spell with Free State Stars before making a move to Mamelodi Sundowns. He struggled for game time at the Brazilians and was loaned out to Moroka Swallows where he revived his career. Manqele went on to play for sides like Chippa United and Kaizer Chiefs. Last season, he was on the books of Tshakhuma.
Moeketsi Sekola in action for Highlands Park. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Sekola made a name for himself when he scooped the PSL Golden Boots award while at Free State on 2014/15.
"We lacked that fire power in front of goals last season. That's why we decided to go for these two strikers. These are two proven strikers," he added.
Eagles have also appointed Joel Masutha as their new head coach and his assistants will be Sazi Ngubane and Bafana Nhlapo.
"The mandate is simple. We want to get promoted in to the PSL. We don't want to get in to the play-offs this time around. Our aim is to get automatic promotion." Dlamini elaborated.
Masutha was on the books of Maccabi FC last season. Eagles parted ways with Dumisani Tau and Muzi Thabotha as the pair would not feature in the technical teams plans for the new season.
Eagles commenced their pre-season and are are targeting a flying start for the new season as they aim to collect points as early as possible to challenge for promotion.