The elephant that Chiefs could not kill

Just two weeks ago the club released a statement making it clear that Billiat was not for sale and happy at Naturena. But with Mamelodi Sundowns constantly saying they know Amakhosi have a price for their star player, the issue recurs almost every day.

And with this being the last week of the transfer window, it is an issue on the lips of every soccer fan.

Amakhosi fans are divided on the matter, with some believing the team should just cash in on the Zimbabwean. They’re set on the belief that it’s the player who first went to Sundowns and said he wanted to come back and that there was a perceived disharmony in camp, with some players not happy with how he seemed to be treated differently.

The others feel that Sundowns are just being nasty and trying to destabilise Chiefs’ progress by confessing their undying love for a player who broke up with them in broad daylight and found a new home at Naturena.

While Lebogang Manyama hit the nail on the head last week when he said transfer speculation would always follow big players like Khama, I think he didn’t take this matter seriously enough. A mere statement saying we are not selling, while the player’s agent gives mixed messages and Sundowns insist they are actually rescuing the player from an unhappy situation, was not enough.

Maybe Billiat himself should speak so we can read the body language and other signs when he says ‘I am happy here blah blah blah’ so the matter can be put to rest.

But it might also be unfair for me to expect Chiefs to worry so much about a matter raised by another club who they insist hasn’t even spoken to them about a possible transfer.

What I know is that a player like Billiat can be fickle and players tend to get unsettled under a coach like Ernst Middendorp, who believes every player must fight for his place, and also for the team, without trying to shine as individuals. We have seen it a lot of times.

This is why it was easier to believe when Sundowns said the player came to them.

But perhaps it is time the PSL considered what Gavin Hunt suggested when he said the transfer window must close before the games begin to avoid such speculation from distracting players and teams.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.