HIGHLANDERS and midfielder Devine Mhindirira have reached a deadlock on a new deal after the player’s contract expired on June 30.
The Bulawayo giants and Mhindirira’s handlers, TKT Sports Agency, yesterday confirmed the player’s heart is still at Highlanders, but the midfielder is said to have demanded an improved contract.
However, Highlanders have offered a new contract on the same terms as the previous one, which the player has not acceded to.
Club chief executive officer Sihlangu Dlodlo yesterday said they had tenaciously engaged the player, but without luck.
Dlodlo said the club admits Highlanders owed Mhindirira US$6 000 in signing-on fees from the previous contract and offered to make a part-payment of $4 000.
They tabled a new contract and are waiting to hear from the player’s representatives.
“The condition that we were given was that we pay him his outstanding signing-on fees, to which we agreed and offered to pay him US$4 000 and he would sign, but he refused to sign when we gave him the new contract, referring us to his manager,” Dlodlo said.
“We are not obligated to speak to the manager because he is not Fifa-approved and Mhindirira had not told us that he has a manager in the first place. But that would not stop us from talking to the player. The coach [Kelvin Kaindu] engaged the player and we invited him three times to come to the office, but he never turned up.”
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He added: “It is clear that we are playing cat and mouse. We have asked the coach to bar him from training for fear that he could get injured while training when his contract has expired.
“Clearly, there might be teams that want him, but we wanted to re-sign him and I think we have done the best under the circumstances. We have obligations to all players. It would not be prudent to appear like one player is handled in a special way and we are neglecting others.”
Highlanders owe some players signing-on fees from previous contracts and sources have indicated the club is in financial doldrums to be active in the transfer market whose window opened on July 1.
An official from TKT Sports Agency said: “We are waiting for them [Highlanders] to revise their offer because we respect Kaindu. He has improved the boy in many respects on and off the field.”
Other sources say Mhindirira, said to be on FC Platinum’s radar, is owed signing-on fees dating back to 2020.
