No approach for Manyisa

Johannesburg - Bobby Motaung has rubbished reports linking Kaizer Chiefs with a move for Orlando Pirates ace Oupa Manyisa.

READ: No panic over Khune deal.

It had been reported that there was a sensational plot by the two clubs to let Manyisa join Amakhosi in exchange for Chiefs goalkeeper and captain Itumeleng Khune.

“Chiefs and Pirates have an understanding and an agreement. We don’t want any Pirates players in our fold,” Motaung said in no uncertain terms on Tuesday.

“We’ve had an understanding not to interfere with each other’s players. I think the media plays a nice game, making players go here and go there.”

The country’s two biggest and best-supported clubs had enjoyed a long-standing “gentleman’s agreement” not to buy players from each other.

But with the likes of Arthur Zwane, Jimmy Tau and, most recently, Lehlohonolo Majoro changing allegiance, that agreement seems to have fallen by the wayside.

Motaung, however, was adamant that not only would Khune stay with the Glamour Boys, but also that Manyisa was not an option for them.

“If Pirates do it, like they did with Majoro, it’s their own accord,” he said.

“If there would be a move in the near future, it is something that would be negotiated at a high level. This became very bitter when we played that kind of game in the past.”

Pirates signed Majoro in February last year after he failed to secure a regular starting berth under Stuart Baxter.

When it came to the club’s most high-profile player, Motaung believed Khune would come to his senses and put an end to speculation linking him with a move to cross-town rivals, Pirates.

“We’ve had him for years. We’ve built Khune to what he is. For him personally, I think he knows where his bread is buttered.”

Khune was yet to sign a new deal with Chiefs and had entered into the final six months of his current deal. According to PSL regulations, when a player was in his last six months of a contract, it allowed him to talk to other clubs and sign a contract at will.