CAPS United’s chances of signing one of their prime targets Lot Chiunga have been boosted after Black Rhinos revealed that they will not be renewing the striker’s contract when it expires on December 31.
The veteran striker, who netted seven goals for the relegated army side, is understood to be one of the players that United coach Lloyd Chitembwe wants to sign on to bolster his squad for next season.
And it appears the road has been cleared for Makepekepe to freely negotiate with Chiunga after Black Rhinos vice-chairperson Colonel Edward Mutukwa yesterday told NewsDay that the 37-year-old forward would be allowed to leave the club when his contract expires.
“His contract is expiring and we won’t be standing on his way if a club wants to sign him,” Mutukwa said.
“We haven’t received any inquiries for him. In the event that no club comes for him, he knows that our door is always open to welcome him back,” he added.
The Green Machine are looking to strengthen their squad following an underwhelming season where they had to fight for survival.
Club official Morton Dodzo refused to give away the names of the players they are pursuing for the upcoming season, but confirmed it would be a busy transfer window for them.
“The technical team has submitted their wish list and we are still deliberating on it. We are still in the preliminary stages and haven’t agreed with anyone so far. There are a number of players they want added to the squad and as a club, we won’t be reckless in publishing names of players that we haven’t signed. We will only reveal the names when we have concluded the deals. And as a club, we are happy with how the negotiations are going, and as soon as we have something tangible, we will make it public.”
To make way for the new additions, Caps United will be forced to lay off a number of players from last season.
“We have a list of players that will be released. We haven’t started acting on that and once we have done the necessary processes, we will come publicly to say we have released so and so, whether mutually or forced termination,” Dodzo said.