Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach Khalil Ben Youssef pulled a poker face as he responded to questions over Tashreeq Morris, who is set to be announced as the latest signing at South Africa's most-supported club.
The Soweto giants are understood to have finally got the ball rolling in terms of their January transfer business with a swap deal that will see Morris join from SuperSport United, while Amakhosi winger Christian Saile goes the other way.
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The arrival of the 30-year-old striker, however, is yet to be formally announced by the Soweto giants.
Speaking at the Nedbank Cup press conference on Thursday, Ben Youssef's diplomatic response did little to convince anyone in the room that the signing is yet to be completed.
"[Tashreeq] Morris signed? He has signed? Really? When?" a poker-faced Ben Youssef responded when asked by journalists.
Sadly, for the assistant coach, who will be leading the side from the dugout in their next match against Free Agents in the Nedbank Cup Last 32, SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt had long let the cat out of the bag.
"I saw him (Hunt), I saw him upstairs and he didn't say anything. I was with him now," a resolute Ben Youssef went on.
"If you have information, you can give us. From my side, I've only seen Morris in my dreams.
"The day I see Morris with us, and our [media] department posts about it, then I will have answers for you.
"For the moment, I've only seen Morris when we played against him. I remember we prepared the team about him when we played against them. [Christian] Saile is with us, we just had lunch together just now," he said.
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Humorously, Ben Youssef's denialist persona is in complete contrast to that of the straight-shooting Nasreddine Nabi, who famously told the media about the signing of Njabulo Blom and Bradley Cross before the club could make the official announcement earlier this season.