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Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung has claimed that new signing Lebogang Manyama wanted to join the Glamour Boys five years ago.
Chiefs announced in December 2013 that Manyama's move to the club was "imminent", but it never materialised, with Amakhosi claiming that agent Maimane Phiri rejected the offer handed to the then Ajax Cape Town man.
"The club presented an offer to the player through his agent following the agreement reached by the two clubs for the move to take place. After a series of negotiations, the agent informed Chiefs that the player will be moving overseas at the end of the 2013/14 PSL season," Amakhosi claimed on their website at the time.
The Glamour Boys finally signed Manyama on Wednesday following his spell at Konyaspor, and Motaung has taken the time to reflect upon Chiefs' previous attempt to lure him to Naturena.
"This player was supposed to join us as far back as when he was at Ajax Cape Town, when Stuart Baxter was here. We had agreed on everything when his agent disappeared and the player turned out at SuperSport United. I don't want to mention people's names but things were done above board this time," Motaung said, according to IOL.
"We know that he has always wanted to be here but of course that didn't happen. He has come back from Turkey now and brings a lot of experience and quality to our team, which is something we have always emphasised given the pressure we are under."
Motaung revealed that Chiefs had to pay compensation to Konyaspor for Manyama, although he did not reveal the exact amount. He admitted that the club was looking to add depth to their ranks in order to deal with a busy fixture list.
"It is still a process and we are looking at signing two or more players. We told the coach that we can't sign players at the same time because we also need his input," said Motaung.
"He remembers Manyama from when he coached Free State Stars and he is excited that this is a player that will bring quality and value."
