Michael Madyira
Mass player signings have become the new way of conducting transfer business in the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
The trend has now reached unprecedented levels with Chippa United signing a whopping 19 players for the new campaign.
Sekhukhune United welcomed 16 new players while the Newsboys Richards Bay brought in 15.
Meanwhile, most top-flight European clubs will only sign a handful of players every year.
The South African transfer window closes on 22 September and some clubs have indicated they are not yet done building up their squads.
Chippa United signed 16 players before the start of last season but ended up fighting relegation while Sekukhune had 19 new signings and finished the campaign outside the top-eight.
“Everything has just gone crazy,” said former Orlando Pirates defender Gavin Lane.
He said a coach sits down with the chairman and his assistant coaches and says for example that he needs two centre-backs, a midfielder, a right winger and a striker.
“If you look at it that way you go out and look for three or four players to solidify your team.
But to go and buy a whole crowd of players at once doesn’t make sense,” Lane told Scrolla.Africa
Swallows FC had 13 new arrivals last season and had to salvage their PSL status in the promotion/relegation play-offs. They have toned down to seven signings this season.
Mass signings came under the spotlight when then-new Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela signed nine players before the start of the 2015/16 season, tampering with his predecessor Stuart Baxter’s championship-winning squad.
Komphela added 10 more signings the following term but trophies continue to elude the continuously-rebuilding Soweto giants despite signing at least seven players ahead of each season.
It did, however, work differently for Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.
The Brazilians were refreshing their ageing squad and signed 14 players while preparing for life after Pitso Mosimane, who was leaving for Al Ahly.
They went on to win a record fourth straight league title after making major changes.
This convinced ex-Pirates and Sundowns coach Gordon Igesund that numbers do not matter when conducting transfer business.
“I don’t know if the players are signed by the coaches or the managers,” said Igesund, a four-time PSL title winner.
“There is a lot of player movement but maybe it’s just because the clubs have to make changes. But this season I see a lot of it.”
Chiefs offloaded 12 players in June and have since signed seven new ones as coach Arthur Zwane says he needs a central defender and a striker.
Image source: @ChippaUnitedFC
