Durban City fail in first bid to retain Sundowns loanee Terrence Mashego

Mashego joined City on a season-long loan at the beginning of the campaign and quickly established himself as one of the club’s key players during a memorable return to the Betway Premiership for the KwaZulu-Natal outfit.  

The Citizens also enjoyed success in the Nedbank Cup and remain on course to secure a top eight finish should results go their way against crosstown rivals AmaZulu in their final game of the campaign on Saturday. 

Despite City’s desire to retain him, indications are that Mashego is expected to report back to Sundowns for pre-season, where he is understood to be ready to fight for his place in a highly competitive squad. 

Sundowns have Aubrey Modiba, Devine Lunga, Fawaaz Basadien and the young Thato Sibiya all fighting for that position. 

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Prior to his loan spell, Mashego had struggled for regular game time at Chloorkop due to that very strong competition and injuries.

The 28-year-old featured in 28 matches in all competitions this season and was widely regarded as one of The Citizens’ standout performers despite the instability caused by three coaching changes during the campaign.

Sundowns signed Mashego from Cape Town City during Rulani Mokwena’s tenure at the club in a high-profile move, beating Kaizer Chiefs in the race to conclude the deal for his signature at the time. 

He immediately became a regular and eventually earned a place in the Bafana Bafana side coached by Hugo Broos for the AFCON in 2024, where South Africa secured a bronze medal in Ivory Coast. 

Although injuries and limited minutes saw him lose his national team place, Mashego has shown flashes of the quality that once made him one of the country’s top full-backs. City may yet continue negotiations with the transfer window only closing at the end of August and ample time remaining for a possible agreement should all parties be willing to continue the relationship.