European clubs in race for Wits ace

Phakamani Mahlambi is on the brink of a move to Europe after Bidvest Wits admitted yesterday it was proving impossible to keep the teenage prodigy.

The 19-year-old set up a goal on Wednesday night for Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal as he began trials with the club‚ playing as a second-half substitute in a shock 3-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in Rio Maior.

Mahlambi was slotted into the squad for the pre-season friendly just 48 hours after arriving in Portugal. 

Vitoria had already made a firm offer for the player‚ Wits CE Jose Ferreira said yesterday‚ and were prepared to sign him without a trial.

“But we insisted that they look at him first because we don’t want a situation where they sign him‚ then they discover they don’t like him, or he doesn’t fit into the coach’s plans and he sits not utilised‚” he said.

Ferreira said Guimaraes were offering “an attractive deal” but he also admitted he had spoken to English premier league club Bournemouth about the player and that there was also interest from Crystal Palace. “As much as we’d like to keep him‚ we can ’t refuse the kind of deals being offered,” he said.

The friendly victory over Sporting Lisbon also featured Bongani Zungu and former Ajax Cape Town junior Haashim Domingo‚ who came on as a late substitute.