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AmaZulu goalkeeper Jody February has been granted permission to face his parent club Mamelodi Sundowns while on loan.
SABC Sport understands that Usuthu have not had to agree to the same terms forced on SuperSport United, whose three players – another goalie in Ricardo Goss, midfielder Grant Magerman and striker Thabang Sibanyoni – cannot play against Downs while on loan there.
AmaZulu coach Romain Folz confirmed that he’d not been made aware of any such policy when February joined them last month.
"If that's a clause, I'm not aware of it. I think he had a good game. I think he's distribution was very much on point. I told him after the game that I am not surprised, I knew what I was getting with him joining us on loan. It's good to know that I have great competition in the goalkeeping department," Folz said.
February did not keep a clean sheet on debut when AmaZulu beat ABC Motsepe League side Tornado FC 3-2 in the Nedbank Cup on Sunday, but Folz believes his new shot stopper will give first choice Veli Mothwa a challenge.
"The competition in the field, in this case in our goalkeeping department is always beneficial to the players. If you look at every position in the field, if you look at the left back position, Mabiliso, Hanamub. If you look at the centre back, Rama and Zulu, everyone has someone to challenge them. So, it's only fair that the goalkeeper also has someone to challenge them," he explained.
The coach does admit it would be hard to drop Mothwa, but if he has to make that decision in the remaining games it will be to Usuthu’s benefit.
"I'm going to do the same thing I always do with every position in the field. Whoever I believe is going to give me more, is going to play. But in all honesty with Veli, he's been excellent recently. I cannot ask for more, if I have two keepers who are giving me a lot then it's my job to make decisions. But it's always good to have quality in every department in the field," he added.
Folz dismissed any suggestions that he will rotate February and Mothwa for the No.1 jersey at AmaZulu.
"The play itself is one element, the technical and everything. The goalkeeper part, what you see is one element. There's also a mental element that you don't see. There's a lot of factors going on even physically, there's mental fatigue as well. There's a lot of elements that come into play when it has to be decided who's going to start or not," he concluded.
