Neo Maema transfer talks progress

With the 29-year-old allowed to join Bafana Bafana at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) tournament co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the move is not quite over the line just yet.

“We have had several local offers for Neo in the local Betway Premiership – good offers for a good player.

But we’ve come to a loan agreement with Simba because that gives him the opportunity to play for a team that challenges for league titles and is also in the CAF inter-club competitions,” explained Steve Kapeluschnik.

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“I can tell you that the deal is almost concluded, but of course, there is a bit of a delay with Neo who is part of the national team at the moment.

He is the captain of the CHAN squad, and this is a proud moment for him to lead the team.”

It’s understood Simba would love to have the player join coach Fadlu Davids and the rest of the team for pre-season with the campaign scheduled to get underway on 16 September, although the fixtures are yet to be confirmed.

The CHAN tournament runs until the end of August and Maema will only be available after that should South Africa go all the way.

Maema joined Sundowns from Bloemfontein Celtic in 2021 and going to Tanzania will be a fresh challenge for a midfielder who was recently part of the FIFA Club World Cup squad in the USA two months ago.