What will it take for Bidvest Wits to finally allow playmaker Sibusiso Vilakazi a move away from Milpark? I read this week that former coach-turned-super agent Mike Maakab is actively looking for a new home for the 2014 Footballer of the Year.
This is long overdue, seriously, but fortunately for Maakab, his client is still hot property, with new Premier League champions Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs very much after his signature.
But the biggest obstacle in trying to secure Vilakazi’s future is his current team Wits, who have reportedly turned down record-breaking offers in the domestic league in their effort to hold on to their prized asset.
It’s time to let go - use the handsome transfer fee that will come with selling Vilakazi to find a replacement, or at least a player with huge potential to fill the void over the course of the season.
It is no secret that the Bafana Bafana star has grown increasingly frustrated at being stuck at Wits for longer than he should have. Vilakazi burst onto the PSL scene in 2009 and has made great strides in ensuring he is one of the best playmakers in the local game, and the Footballer of the Year award that came five years later is evidence to support that claim.
What now?
The past two seasons have not been the best for ‘Vila’ despite making Bafana’s 23-man squad in the Africa Cup of Nations held in Equatorial Guinea last year and helping Wits finish runners-up to potential suitors Sundowns during the campaign that ended last month.
He was blighted by injuries in the first half of the season and could not find consistency, having been in and out of the team, but finished strongly by scoring three goals in the Clever Boys’ final four league matches.
That convincing display also earned him a recall to the national team that did the business by beating Gambia 4-0 away from home a week ago in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Although the result came a little too late to help Bafana progress to the continental tournament in Gabon, Vilakazi, who came on as an early first-half substitute following an injury to Thulani Serero, was able to carry his club form to the international stage.
Vilakazi has played his part at Wits and in that time has not been able to help the club win the championship despite that being one of the reasons the Clever Boys rejected countless offers from Sundowns and Chiefs to lure him away.
Gavin Hunt, Wits coach for the past three seasons, has admittedly had to deal with keeping the players’ head in the game, with speculation about his future naturally affecting him on the pitch. I doubt he has the stomach for yet another transfer wrangle next season, fighting to hold on to a player who clearly wants out.
But which club would be the perfect fit? It’s not that simple to determine Vilakazi’s next move.
These days, it’s all about the money, and Sundowns have that in abundance, with owner Patrice Motsepe probably keen to help coach Pitso Mosimane bolster a squad that clinched the league title with two games to spare, on top of having won the Telkom Knockout earlier in the season.
Vilakazi will be the missing piece in the Sundowns puzzle if current Footballer of the Year Khama Billiat is sold to an overseas club as expected. Otherwise that would be a senseless move, like having two Lamborghinis parked in the garage and using the eeny, meeny, miny, moe approach to choose which one to take for a spin.
And then there’s the option of him going to Chiefs, who desperately need a player of Vilakazi’s calibre to bring back the good old days. But Amakhosi aren’t always willing to spend, especially given Wits’ evaluation of Vilakazi.
Maybe things will change this time around, seeing that a barren previous season has led to a massive clear-out, where 20 players were either transfer-listed, released from their contracts or simply shown the door last week.
Pick wisely, ‘Vila’, but staying at Wits for another year is not an option.
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