Yanga coach makes his stand on in-demand striker Mayele’s future

Mayele has been in top form for Young Africans. (Yanga media)

FOOTBALL Yanga coach makes his stand on in-demand striker Mayele’s future

Joel Omotto • 19:53 - 19.05.2023

Mayele is currently the subject of a transfer tussle between South African giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

Yanga SC head coach Nasreddine Nabbi is hopeful that in-demand striker Fiston Meyele will stay at the club until at least the end of his contract next season.

Mayele is one of the highly-sought after strikers in the continent, having enjoyed a good season that has seen him reach double figures in the league while he is currently the top scorer in the CAF Confederation Cup with six goals.

The Congolese has attracted the interest of South African giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates with discussion between his representatives and the former reportedly taking place.

Mayele did not waste time to show his suitors what he will bring as he scored the first goal and created the second for Zambian Kennedy Musonda when Yanga beat South Africa’s Marumo Gallants 2-1 in the Confederation Cup semi-final second leg in Rustenburg on Wednesday before Timu ya Wananchi sealed their place in the final courtesy of a 4-1 aggregate win.

It is such performances that have left Nabbi hoping that the striker will stay at the club, even if he might leave as a free agent at the end of next season.

“I am really happy for him and how he is performing. I signed him from AS Vita and I am glad he has repaid the faith I had in him. He has a year left on his contract and of course there is so much interest in him but hopefully he can stay,” Nabbi said after Yanga’s win over Gallants.

Mayele nearly joined Chiefs in June 2022 when Amakhosi made an initial bid of around $210,000 (Ksh28.8 million) in exchange for his signature but Yanga slapped a high price tag on their prized asset before rewarding the player with an improved two-year contract.

The striker joined Yanga in 2021 from DR Congo giants AS Vita, where he won the club's 2020-2021 domestic league title, and notched 19 goals in 35 games for the Tanzanian giants last season.