JOHANNESBURG - Bidvest Wits chief executive officer Jose Ferreira has rubbished suggestions that the club could lose the country's top defender Thulani “Tyson” Hlatshwayo.
Speculation has been rife that the Bafana Bafana and Wits captain, who was rock solid at the heart of defence for the Clever Boys last season, could join one of the country's "bigger" clubs.
But Ferreira says the man who won the defender of the year gong at the PSL awards is going nowhere.
“Hlatshwayo is Bidvest Wits' player. He still has a contract with us. No club has ever come to me regarding him," Ferreira said.
"I’ve had numerous discussions with Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza but he has never said anything about Hlatshwayo. "I’ve also had talks with Bobby Motaung of Kaizer Chiefs but he has never shown any interest in Hlatshwayo.
"Mamelodi Sundowns haven’t said anything to me about Hlatshwayo. Even if they did show interest, Hlatshwayo is not for sale.”
Hlatshwayo propelled Wits to Absa Premiership glory last season, having also captained the Clever Boys to MTN8 success.
A touch of gold and silver for the 2016/17 AbsaPrem Champions #OnlyWhiteAndBlue #DemandExcellence #KitLaunch pic.twitter.com/aJNDbtnozK
— Bidvest Wits (@BidvestWits) August 1, 2017
Instead it is Jabulani Shongwe who the club is letting go.
“Shongwe asked to be released. He is not in our plans. If clubs want to buy him they must come with offers. There is interest but it is not concrete. Right now I’m not in a position to mention the name of the clubs that are interested in a player,” Ferreira said, adding that the club had decided to allow Knox Mutizwa to join Golden Arrows permanently.
The Zimbabwean striker, who starred for his country as they won the Cosafa Cup last month - netting five goals in six matches - was on loan to the Durban side for the second half of the season.
At Abafana Bes'thende he had an immediate impact where he scored five goals in 12 appearances.
One of those was the one that earned Arrows a spot in the top eight on the season's final day against Pirates.
“We’ve sold Mutizwa to Arrows. He is no longer our player,” Ferriera confirmed.
Mutizwa found it difficult to break into the Wits starting line-up with the likes of Eleazar Rodgers, James Keene and Gabadinho Mhango being picked ahead of him.
He is happy to be staying at Arrows: “They gave me a chance to shine in the Absa Premiership. I hope to score more goals than I scored last season. My goal this season is to be a top goal scorer. "
Mutizwa will take on his former employers next Friday in the MTN8 quarterfinal.