AmaZulu FC have decided not to sign former Orlando Pirates midfielder Nkanyiso Zungu, who has been training with the club since last week.
Zungu parted ways with Pirates in June as his contract with the Soweto giants had expired. He has been looking for a new club ever since.
The midfielder trained with Royal AM for two months at the Royal Ranch, as reported previously.
However, the club was unable to sign him due to the FIFA transfer ban imposed on them. AmaZulu released Zungu after he stopped training with the club on Tuesday.
The club’s coach, Pablo Franco Martin, confirmed that they have been assessing some trialists but have not signed any players yet.
“When making the decision, it’s not only about the coach, it’s also about the club,” said Franco Martin.
“There’s a president, there’s board members, there’s a CEO and many people involved in decision-making.”
FRANCO MARTIN SAYS USUTHU HAVEN’T SIGNED ANYONE
He added: “From my side as a coach and from the technical point of view with the technical staff, we are delivering information that we have to deliver not only about these players but also some [trialists] that we are checking in case they can come for assessments or to sign them.
“But in the meantime, we are working, this is a long-term project. We are improving the team, we are improving the players we have.
“So, it’s true that there are players [training] with the team, but we have not signed yet. We will keep going, we will keep working with the players we have.
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“If any player is coming, he’s going to be very welcome. He’s going to help us get targets in terms of results, but if not, I’m happy with the guys we have. We will push as much as possible.”
Nkanyiso Zungu’s struggles to find a club seemingly stem from his off-the-field issues. He has been labelled as a ‘bad boy’, having had a troubled spell at AmaZulu before joining Stellenbosch FC, where his career got back on track, attracting the interest of Pirates.
But he also had issues at Bucs as he was suspended in March 2022 after charges of allegedly assaulting his girlfriend came to light.
But the charges were later dropped, and Pirates decided to send Zungu out on loan at Richards Bay, where reports of ill-discipline also emerged.
The 27-year-old’s stay at Richards Bay, the last club he has played for, only lasted for two months. It remains to be seen if Zungu will find a club in the DStv Premiership.
His former coach at Stellenbosch, Steve Barker, previously urged the player to also consider playing in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.