An Orlando Pirates superstar seems to be back on the radar of a European club ahead of the January window.
Interest from European clubs was nothing new for Pirates last season, with at least four players linked with overseas moves.
Pirates players attracting interest abroad
Some of those players included Relebohile Mofokeng, Tshegofatso Mabasa, Evidence Makgopa and Patrick Maswanganyi. In the end, the quartet all remained put at Pirates continuing their moment. They have since helped the Buccaneers to a perfect start in the Betway Premiership, while also winning the MTN8. Three of those players have also featured prominently for Bafana Bafana under coach Hugo Broos.
The latest star to threaten to stamp his authority in the national team set up is Maswanganyi. Although he hasn’t quite set the world alight at Pirates this season, he has had a recent resurgence. This coming in the form of taking his chances in the Bafana Bafana side, scoring two in his last two games. Now according to Soccer-Laduma, that has reignited interested from his former side in Portugal, Oliveirense. According to the publication, they are ready to pay top dollar.
Oliveirense interested in re-signing Maswanganyi
“For now the Portuguese club is putting in an offer between €900 000 to €1 million which is between R20 million to R23 million. That could go up if he (Maswanganyi) moves to another club because Oliveirense are basing this on the fact that he is their former player and that they were expecting him to come back after SuperSport United,” said one source.
A second source claims that Maswanganyi’s value to Pirates should’ve increased after his national team caps with Bafana.
“You know if you are a national team player your value is different from a regular club player. So now, with his (Maswanganyi) few Bafana Bafana caps recently, his value has gone up. If it was around R20 million to R23 million, now it should be higher than that. But also, it depends on which country’s league is interested in the player. All those issues matter in these transfers. But he is worth it!” Said the source to the same publication.
Pirates fans, would you accept Maswanganyi’s departure mid-season if it meant getting R23 million? Feel free to leave your thoughts and feelings below.
