MARITZBURG UNITED TRANSFER NEWS: FOUR PLAYERS SIGNED PLUS TECHNICAL TEAM BOOST
20 July 2021
With the 2021/ 22 PSL season fast approaching, Maritzburg United have been working hard to bolster our playing squad as well as the technical team.
As such, we can confirm that four players have been signed: Alfred Ndengane, Zukile Kewuti, Lifa Hlongwane and Rowan Human.
On the technical bench, a familiar face returns in Maahier Davids, who spent three years with Maritzburg between 2015 and 2018. In that period he served as assistant coach to his brother Fadlu Davids and later to Ernst Middendorp, the current Maritzburg head coach.
Maahier, a UEFA A Licence holder, also worked with coach Ernst at Ethiopian outfit St George, as well as previously coaching at Cape Umoya, Free State Stars and Ajax Cape Town in various capacities.
Bringing another dimension to United's technical team for 2021/ 22 is Pedro Ramos, a performance/ video analyst from Portugal. His last vlub was Bangkok United in Thailand, where he was employed for a two-year period, which also coincided with coach Ernst's time at the Asian side.
In addition, coach Sbusiso Mathonsi will be working more closely with the Maritzburg first team and will provide a vital link to the club’s MDC (Multichoice Diski Challenge) team.
Ndengane is a rugged central defender and a vastly experienced PSL campaigner, having played for the likes of Orlando Pirates, Bloemfontein Celtic and Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM), and also having been capped by Bafana Bafana.
Kewuti and Hlongwane are both up-and-coming midfielders who have established themselves as star performers in the PSL over the past couple of years.
Hlongwane has spent the majority of his top-flight career as an attacking left-sided midfielder or winger, although he has also played frequently through the middle. He arrives from Black Leopards, having previously played for Jomo Cosmos, TTM and KwaZulu-Natal second tier side Royal Eagles.
Kewuti is a Cape Town City development product and operates mainly in a midfield holding role. The versatile 26-year-old spent the second half of last season on-loan at AmaZulu and excelled for the Durban team, playing 13 league matches and helping Usuthu to a second-placed league finish.
Human is a young attacking midfielder or support striker, who has captained the South African national U-20 side and also played for the U-23's. Now 20, Human rose up through the Bidvest Wits ranks and subsequently signed for Israeli top-flight team Maccabi Tel Aviv before going out on loan to Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam.
The Team of Choice welcomes the six new men warmly and hopes their respective stays at the club will be fruitful.
With the transfer window still open, there may be further additions. For now coach Ernst is optimistic about what the four new players will bring to the team.
“Whether it is Alfred or Zukile or Lifa or Rowan, they all fit into our expectations in that they have played frequently at their previous clubs,” the Maritzburg mentor said.
“They are not coming here trying to find competitiveness, they have played regularly at their former clubs, meaning it will be easier for them to come into selections here for our squad, in our team.
“Alfred is an experienced player, he’ll give us leadership at the back.
“Rowan Human is a player coming back from Israel, having had a good successful time with Bidvest Wits before. Having played regularly in the starting XI in Israel.
“With Lifa we know his dribbling skills, his individual skill set, giving us the right dimension in front.
“Zukile I’m very happy about, his flexibility in terms of different positions, using him in midfield, in the holding six role, or even on the left side as a wing-back or even as a full-back.
“I like these types of players, I’m happy to have these players here as additional members of the squad.”
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