Jele keen to stay as Orlando Pirates contract nears end

Orlando Pirates skipper Happy Jele is said to be trying to push for the club to hand him another season, with the defender on his last six months of his current contract with the club.

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The Mpumalanga-born player was handed a season long contract prior to the end of last season and this time around, it will be hard for the centre-back to get an extension, according to a source.

The club is said to be in the final phase of restructuring the team and the new players who have been brought in are doing well and they are trusted to get the club to their competitive best and to win silverware.

“He still feels very strong and can go on to play for some years even though he is 35 years old now. The sad part about this whole situation is that it is not entirely up to him, there are many people involved and the future of the club has to be considered as well.

“He has played a number of games and he did quite well even though he got injured at some point. But the arrival of Ndah (Olisa) has made things difficult for Jele because the club has a young and quality centre-back they can rely on just as it was with Jele when he was younger. Anyway, he is the longest serving player in the current squad and maybe another extension might just be his reward from the club,” said the source.