Tanzanian football giants Simba Sports Club have captured another big signing from undisputed Kenyan league champions Gor Mahia.
It is now certain that midfield maestro Francis Kahata will follow Meddie Kagere to Simba for free with a personal signing fee of Sh 8 million, when his contract runs out at Gor at the end of July.
Simba fell short of dropping his name on Wednesday during a press conference ahead of their match against former Europa League champions and Spanish side Sevilla, as a club official announced that they will capture a big name from Gor before the start of next season. A source at K’Ogalo yesterday confirmed to People Sports that it was actually the Harambee Stars midfielder who was being talked about.
“Kahata will most likely head out of the club when the season concludes. He has agitated for a move away previously and had run-ins with club officials over certain issues in the course of the concluding season. Chances of having him here are next to zero,” the well-placed source who requested anonymity told People Daily.
Contract
Kahata has also informed Gor of his wishes to leave the club at the end of his trophy-laden three and half-year stint. He was on the verge of joining Algerian side USM Alger in December but Gor opted not to take the Sh7 million USMA put on the table for the player and instead preferred to let him run out his contract.
Gor chairman Ambrose Rachier also faulted the use of proxies in dealing with transfers and spiked the move.
“He still has seven months in his contract and that is a whole season. If he really want to go we cannot deny him a move but the club must talk to us directly and not through agents,” Rachier said at the time.
With Kahata no longer contracted for the upcoming season, Gor have no say in his next move and the midfielder is lined up for a hefty sign on fee in the region of Sh8million and a more than double his Sh140,000 monthly salary at K’Ogalo.
He becomes the second stellar signing Simba has plucked from K’Ogalo following that of Kagere in mid 2018. Gor are planning to offer Kahata a counter offer but Simba, backed by billionaire businessman Mo Dewji, are too strong and will highly likely overwhelm K’Ogalo for Kahata’s signature.
Lured away
Coach Hassan Oktay expressed his wishes to have Kahata for subsequent seasons at Gor but would understand if another club lured him away. “I know the club is not doing very well financially but it would be my wish to keep Kahata. He is one of the best players in this country and maybe the continent. I call him the wizard because of his artistry with the ball and everyone knows how entertaining he is whenever he plays,” Oktay said yesterday.
Simba tried to lure Kahata last year after capturing Kagere but opted out of paying transfer fees to Gor, instead, choosing to wait for his engagement to K’Ogalo to end then capture him with the hefty signing fee.
