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'We never spoke to the player and his parents'

Kaizer Chiefs' Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jr. has broken his silence on the club's pursuit of Cape Town Spurs winger Asanele Velebayi, which became one of the most controversial topics of the current transfer window.

Chiefs have spent several months in pursuit of the speedy winger to make him the second signing from Spurs, after Rushwin Dortley.

However, unlike Dortley, signing Velebayi has proven far more daunting than the Soweto giants would have thought, with the Urban Warriors insisting that their asking price for the 21-year-old's signature had not been met.

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In an exclusive interview with KickOff, Spurs CEO Alexi Efstathiou had alluded to Amakhosi going as far as reaching out to Velebayi's family in a bid to convince the attacker to join them.

This, after Dortley's family had apparently helped persuade the club boss to sell the centre-back to Chiefs.

Motaung Jr, however, has insisted that the hierarchy at Naturena did no such thing and that he has since cleared the air with Efstathiou and received an apology for the misconception.

"Velebayi, when we broke down our recruits, he fitted into that young prospect," Motaung Jr said on Game On.

"I think being at a team like Spurs, in his breakthrough season, I think he played about 13 games. He has a lot of potential and it was great to see him in the COSAFA [Cup] team and get a chance to express himself.

"But again, we did make an official offer to Cape Town Spurs. We had engagements with them, and of course, Spurs price their players the way they see fit. It has to make sense on both ends.

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"One thing we also want to put out there is that we never spoke to the player and his parents. That's a misconception because we always pride ourselves on being professional.

"It just needs to make business sense. We see the potential, and we would definitely love to have the player join us."

The Glamour Boys begin their quest to end a nine-year trophy drought with a clash against Marumo Gallants in their opening fixture of the Betway Premiership on Saturday.

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