Benyu pledges international future to Zimbabwe
Celtic starlet Kundai Benyu has pledged his international future to Zimbabwe, according to Warriors manager Wellington Mpandare.
The 19-year-old was snapped up on a four-year deal this summer from Ipswich Town by Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers.
And he’s already featured in four games for the Scottish champions this season and started a league game at Kilmarnock earlier in the campaign.
He’s eligible to play for both England and Zimbabwe, but has decided to play for the African side, despite them not having a game until next year having being banned by FIFA for the World Cup after financial irregularities.
“Kundai has now definitely committed his future to us,’’ said Mpandare.
“He didn’t feature in our last African Cup of Nations qualifiers because of tactical reasons.
“But he has made it clear he wants to play for us and the Ministry of Sport and Recreation are currently arranging the paperwork for him to play for us.”
Zimbabwe’s next game is now scheduled to March next year when they play Congo-Brazzaville.
In South Africa, Golden Arrows have bolstered their squad with the addition of former Ajax Cape Town striker Thomas Chideu.
The 20-year-old started training with Clinton Larsen’s charges last month, after parting ways with the Urban Warriors in August.
Abafana Bes’thende announced the Zimbabwean’s arrival via Twitter.
“Another prolific striker! We would like to welcome Thomas Chideu to the family,” the club tweeted.
Chideu struggled for game-time at the Mother City outfit, having only made two appearances since joining them in 2015.
Another Zimbabwean, Tichaona Mabvura, left the capital yesterday for a trial stint at Ajax Cape Town.
Meanwhile, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane was pleased to see Khama Billiat score his first goal of the season on the weekend.
The Zimbabwean play-maker netted with a composed finish in a 1-0 win at Platinum Stars, adding to the two assists he has registered in 2017/18.
Mosimane hopes injuries are a thing of the past for Billiat, whose future remains uncertain at Chloorkop amid protracted contract extension talks.
“I am happy to see Khama back,” said Mosimane after the defeat of Dikwena at Royal Bafokeng Stadium. “He has been injured. It’s good for him to come and score.
“Unfortunately Percy’s (Tau) goal was disallowed. I don’t know what happened, but I was not in a position to comment on that.”
“Jingles’ felt Downs were not at their best following the shock of their CAF Confederation Cup quarter-final loss on penalties to Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca last month.
“All in all you can see that we are coming from a shock. We were not really confident, we tried to keep the result more than going forward.”
Mosimane’s side will resume their league campaign after the FIFA international break against Kaizer Chiefs at Loftus Stadium on October 18. — Kick-Off/ScottishSun
