Durban — AmaZulu have made a strong statement of intent by adding Ethan Brooks to their side ahead of the new season.
Amidst a recent squad exodus which included the likes of top performers such as Tapelo Xoki, Augustine Mulenga and Luvuyo Memela departing, there were suggestions from some that the strong ambition shown by Usuthu over the last two years under owner Sandile Zungu could have ended.
However, in Brooks, the Durban based club have added one of the most highly rated young players in the South African top flight to their ranks. By joining AmaZulu, Brooks will be reuniting with former TS Galaxy team-mate Augustine Kwem who also arrived in Durban this off season. The Nigerian international could only muster three league goals for Galaxy last season but coach Brandon Truter will be aware that he is experienced and has the qualities which are required to be a success in front of goal in the South African top-flight.
Usuthu also recently added Zambian midfielder Rally Bwalya to their ranks. Bwalya joined from Tanzanian giants Simba SC.
Chairman Zungu is pleased with the progress made by his side so far this off season.
“We are delighted that soon after the end of last season, we got busy in the transfer market. We announced six players and now we have added two which makes it eight in total. There are three defensive players, three that play in the middle of the park and two that are frontline players,” said Zungu.
Zungu added that AmaZulu could also make further signings before the start of the new season.
“There are two more players that we are currently talking to. These are great experienced players. If we agree to the terms, we will announce them as signings before we start pre-season training. With these signings, we are showing that we mean business,” said Zungu.
Zungu feels that the current AmaZulu side is “unbeatable” and has set Truter a challenging target of winning at least one piece of silverware next season.
“If we cannot lift one trophy next season, we would have grossly underperformed. If we don’t gain our rightful place in the top quintile of South African football and represent South Africa in one of the CAF Competitions, it will be an injustice. We deserve it and have made our intentions very clear. The coach and his technical team have a responsibility to make the team gel and win a trophy,” said Zungu.
AmaZulu have not won a major trophy since they claimed the Telkom Knockout trophy in 1992.
IOL Sport