Stellies coach Barker comments on Adams to Sundowns rumour

With speculation rife that Stellenbosch FC attacker Jayden Adams is on his way to Mamelodi Sundowns at the end of the season, his coach Steve Barker has questioned why any player would want to leave the club.

Stellies are on a remarkable 21-game unbeaten run in all competitions while they are still in contention for the Nedbank Cup. They are also fighting for a second-place finish in the league having already won the Carling Knockout.

Adams was part of the Bafana Bafana team that won a bronze medal at the Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire. He’s rumoured to have already been sold to the Brazilians.

“There will always be talk because it’s part of football whether in South Africa, England or Germany. When players are doing well, there is always talk of the so-called bigger clubs wanting to get them,” Barker answered when asked about reports that Adams is leaving the club.

“But I just believe now that we’re a team that has been in semifinals and we have won a cup. Hopefully we can finish strong in the league and go into Africa. If I’m a player, I’d look at that and stay in Stellenbosch because I think we’re doing something special.

“We’ll continue to do special things and compete at the highest level. Two or three years ago, maybe players were lured to bigger clubs because they thought they could compete at a higher level but we’re reaching that stage. I also hope that players won’t want to leave the club but speculation will always be there and we will assess that at the end of the season make informed and correct decisions.”

Barker was speaking to Thabiso Mosia on Radio 2000. He also revealed the secret to their incredible run this campaign. Stellenbosch will play Sundowns in the semifinal of the Nedbank Cup looking to reach a second cup final of what has been a superb season.

‘We have laid a really good foundation’

“We seem to be hitting form at the right time and hopefully it can continue. There’s still a lot of league matches to play and the Nedbank Cup hopefully we can maintain our form,” he said.

“I’m ecstatic because a lot of hard work has been put into the club over many years since our promotion and we have laid a really good foundation. In the beginning there were a lot of young players that we had to persevere with and to see them grow into seasoned PSL campaigners and see them go on an unbeaten run of 21 games is remarkable.

“We’ve won 16 of those games. I think we’ve scored 40 goals and conceded 10. I’m really proud of what the players are achieving. They really work hard and they are a tight unit with a lot of quality. I just think there’s confidence and belief in the team and it’s paying off big time.”