Maritzburg to be without Xulu for run-in
Maritzburg United will finish the season without captain Siyanda Xulu, who is set to leave the club when his contract expires on June 30.
The two parties had been in negotiations to extend Xulu’s deal for the remainder of the campaign to allow him to stay on, but these have now ended without a resolution.
The club will allow him to leave on a free transfer immediately, giving him time to find a new club before the start of the 2020/2021 season, be it at home or abroad.
The 28-year-old joined Maritzburg in 2017 after two difficult years at Kaizer Chiefs, where he made just six league starts.
But he was able to breathe new life into his career, missing only two games in his first two seasons in KwaZulu-Natal,
and helping the team to the 2018 Nedbank Cup final that they lost to Free State Stars.
He has been in and out of the team this season, with his last match a 3-2 Nedbank Cup loss to Bloemfontein Celtic in
February.
Xulu made his top-flight debut as a teenager with Mamelodi Sundowns in the 2009/2010 season and was a regular before a move to the Russian Premier League side FC Rostov.
His case shows the difficulty for clubs in trying to finish the season with the squads they had when the campaign was paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For those players whose contracts expire on June 30, unless the parties agree on a short-term contract extension, they will be lost to their clubs which could have an impact on how the season plays out.
Maritzburg are in the fifth position in the league, and likely guaranteed of a topeight place. —