Mosimane plans for major Sundowns shake-up in January

Pitso Mosimane has made it candidly clear he is set to shake up personnel at Mamelodi Sundowns as he embarks on a scouting trip to South America this weekend‚ and says he has already lined up new Zambian and Mozambican signings.

But he will have to make some stark choices as Sundowns could already be in contravention of Premier Soccer League rules that prohibit the contracting of more than five foreigners.

The Sundowns coach has also poured cold water on reports that Ricardo Nascimento‚ recovering from a surgery on niggling groin injury‚ has left the club. The coach suggested instead the Brazilian centreback’s experience would be vital as Downs look to get Rivaldo Coetzee back to full fitness and further expose prodigy Motjeka Madisha.

“Nascimento is the best one for them to learn from‚” said the coach.

Nascimento is not registered this season with Sundowns‚ whose five foreign players are Razak Brimah (Ghana)‚ Leonard Castro (Colombia)‚ Fares Hachi (Algeria/France)‚ Soumahoro Bangaly and Yannick Zakri (both Ivory Coast).

But Nascimento can be activated in the January transfer window‚ as long as Sundowns drop one of their foreigners to open up a slot.

Nascimento’s current status with Sundowns is unclear but if he is still contracted then Sundowns are flouting the rules.

Regulations brought in last season prohibit clubs from having foreign players under contract who are also not registered to play at the same time.

Last season Sundowns flouted the rules by having five on their own books and loaning out Cuthbert Malajila (Zimbabwe) and Mogakolodi Ngele (Botswana) to champions Bidvest Wits – making for an actual total of seven contracted foreigners.

But the Premier Soccer League turned a blind eye to this violation and did not prosecute them.

Malajila and Ngele have since obtain permanent residence status and are now regarded as locals.

Mosimane also said Sundowns had already “secured” Zambian teen prodigy Lameck Banda. But legally they cannot yet contract him‚ until he turns 18 in January.

The coach also said they were getting the Mozambican midfielder Luis Miquissione from HCB Songo‚ the current champions in Mozambique.

If these players are to join Sundowns‚ the club has to clear the decks of some of the existing foreigners in the next transfer window.

Likely to go is Castro‚ whose form has plummeted since injury this time last year and who has made a minimal contribution over the last year.

Legally African champions Sundowns would have to terminate the contracts of the foreigners they are seeking to get rid of.

They cannot simply deregister them and keep paying them while they idle on the sidelines.

A trip to South America suggests Mosimane is looking for more reinforcements as he has made clear his desire to chase a second Caf Champions League title when Sundowns compete in the 2018 edition.

But he will have to move quickly as registration for next year’s African club competition closes in mid-January.