There could be more to the relationship between Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso and Peter Shalulile than meets the eye.
Cardoso went on to make a first-half substitution against Golden Arrows, as he withdrew Sphelele Mkhulise and brought on Shalulile, who went on to score a brace and could have scored hat-trick, with a goal disallowed in a 4-0 win.
However, time and again, it has proven that the Namibian is not really the Portuguese tactician's cup of tea, despite the denials, from the moment he arrived at Chloorkop.
The former Esperance coach has insisted that the 31-year-old starting matches from the bench is simply managing the striker.
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Shalulile appeared concerned and unhappy when he was zoomed in by the cameras, although in a meditative pose, with Sundowns trailing Maniema Union 1-0 in Congo and at risk of complicating their CAF Champions League quarter-final qualification.
However, with 11 minutes to go, Cardoso had to play all his cards and finally brought on the Namibian, who turned the game on it's head and inspired Masandawana to a 2-1 win.
The 52-year-old coach had no choice, after initially benching Shalulile for six consecutive matches, to start him in the subsequent CAF Champions League clash against AS FAR Rabat and the elastic forward scored the all-important goal in a 1-1 draw in the final group game.
Sundowns had only two days of rest before they faced Magesi in the league and if 'managing' Shalulile was so much a priority, he would not have started against Dikwena but he did, following his form versus AS FAR.
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Before the game against Arrows on Sunday, the 31-year-old forward was an unused substitute against Sibanye Golden Stars and a week later, he did not start against Abafana Bes'thende.
A player of Shalulile's calibre would want to be on the pitch and with Cardoso seemingly not his favourite, this website has been led to believe that the Namibian, just like his former teammates Thembinkosi Lorch, Lebohang Maboe and Rushine De Reuck, asked to be released to find game-time elsewhere, but a hefty price tag of R75 million (€3,9 million), as first reported by Soccer Laduma, means he has to wait for another six months for a competent suitor of his services.
With Shalulile always scoring under challenging circumstances, it remains to be seen if the Portuguese coach would change his mind on whether 'Sha Sha' is in the club's plans moving forward.