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Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns' hopes of landing rising star Thapelo Morena have been dashed after the player signed an improved contract with current club Bloemfontein Celtic.
Siwelele managing director Rali Ramabodu has revealed that he was certain "Morena will stay" after he was given a pay rise and an extended deal until the 2019.
"We want to have a strong team, we want him to stay and so what we've done is we've bettered his contract because of the interest shown in him," the Celtic boss said.
"He's signed the contract and he's happy to stay, so he is not going anywhere."
Chiefs and Sundowns are amongst three clubs that had made offers for the 22-year-old attacker, who is part of South Africa's Olympic squad that will depart for Rio in the next few days.
Meanwhile, Ramabodu explained the reason why Celtic had allowed so many of their high-profile players leave this winter, saying it was because the coach Serame Letsoaka was looking for players with flair and natural skill.
The likes of Keagan Buchanan, Lerato Lamola and Vuyani Ntanga have departed as the club opted for a complete overhaul.
"The reason we opted for new players is because of the style the coach is playing," Ramabodu added. "The type of players we had were like straightforward players, but Serame is looking for players with more talent, more dribbling skills and what not.
"His game is different to the players we had, so we had to let them leave."
