Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Brian Baloyi says Kaizer Chiefs are being held back in the transfer market by weak relationships with other clubs.
The Soweto giants have struggled to sign several of their preferred targets in recent years, with the club previously identifying inflated transfer fees as one of the main barriers to completing deals with rival teams.
Baloyi, who spent more than a decade with Chiefs, believes the club needs to appoint someone capable of developing strong connections across the game. He says those relationships would help Amakhosi negotiate better terms when signing or loaning players.
“I think for me, the biggest thing with Chiefs is their relationship with other clubs. It is very important if you want to make transactions, like buying and loaning players. Within the club, they must find someone who has relationships with other teams,” he said on SoccerBeat.
“That person will be responsible for signing and loaning players. It could be a technical director or sporting director, but you need a relationship to make successful transfers.”
Baloyi believes Chiefs have become less effective in the market over the past two years. He compared the club’s current approach with the work previously done by football manager Bobby Motaung, who he feels was more successful in negotiating player moves.
“I think looking at the last two years, Chiefs have lost that. I don’t want to take anyone back to Bobby, but in terms of player transactions, he used to do a better job. He used to have relationships in Zimbabwe and other countries, but looking now, Chiefs are struggling to sign players,” Baloyi added.
Kaizer Motaung Jr has assumed a more prominent role in the club’s recruitment process. However, Baloyi says Chiefs must restore their links with clubs and figures within the local football fraternity if they are to improve their prospects in future transfer windows.
The importance of those negotiations was highlighted recently when TS Galaxy chairman Tim Sukazi disclosed that Chiefs had offered R4 million for Seluleko Mahlambi. The player was valued at R10 million.
Baloyi believes the difference in valuation should have led to further discussions rather than ending the negotiations.
“If you speak to Tim Sukazi, make an offer and he rejects it, you should return and negotiate. You can do that only if you build relationships. It seems they don’t have relationships with other clubs today,” he said.
In Baloyi’s view, improving those connections would give Chiefs a better chance of securing the players they identify as priorities.
