Orlando Pirates defender Bongani Sam is said to be leaving the club for yet another loan deal ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Bongani Sam joined Orlando Pirates in 2019 from Bloemfontein Celtic but struggled to break into the Soweto giants match-day squad despite arriving at the club as a highly-rated youngster.
He had a great spell at Celtic, where he also attracted interest from Mamelodi Sundowns, with Pirates initially winning the race to sign the player.
The 25-year-old has only made 29 appearances in Bucs colours, with a goal and two assists to his name.
At Pirates, Sam was never allowed to prove his worth under five coaches Micho Sredejovic, Rulani Mokwena, Josef Zinnbauer, the duo of Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids. It remains unknown whether Riveiro has seen Sam play.
And new reports indicate that Sam will not return to Pirates to play under Spanish coach Jose Riveiro. The latter prefers Paseka Mako and Innocent Maela in the left-back position or to play with three defenders at the club.
SAM SET FOR A LOAN MOVE TO SWALLOWS
Swallows have emerged as hot favourites to land the Pirates defender’s signature, with SABC Sports reporting that he is heading to Dobsonville.
The Dube Birds are on a mission to beef up their squad with the new coach at the helm Steve Komphela with Musa Nyatama demoted to his role as an assistant coach.
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Swallows coach, Komphela knows Sam very well as he worked with the player at Celtic, and the former Kaizer Chiefs tactician played a role in Sam’s rise to SA’s topflight.
“Chippa United were understood to be favourites to sign the player ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, but it’s their Soweto rivals Swallows FC who’ve managed to conclude a deal to keep Sam in Gauteng,” reports SABC Sports.
Sam, a former junior national team international, spent the 2022/23 season on loan at two clubs. He was at Maritzburg United for the campaign’s first half and then moved to Swallows in the latter stages.