With Kaizer Chiefs deadlocked in negotiations with Cape Town Spurs for winger Asanele Velebayi, retired midfielder Brent Carelse has weighed in on whether the 21-year-old is worth what has been purported to be his value.
It has become public knowledge that Chiefs have sent official bids to the Urban Warriors for the services of Velebayi, with all being rejected, as the Mother City club believe the amounts are below their valuation of the player.
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In a transfer saga that has become bitter, after Spurs CEO Alexi Efstathiou alleged that Chiefs, after having their offer rejected, approached Velebayi's parents, behind their back, there is a debate on whether the star is priced fairly.
Efstathiou has suggested that, for his age, he is very experienced, with 99 professional matches for Spurs, even though the bulk of them were in the National First Division, and also alluded that it costs them anything from R8 million upwards to develop a player for a period of at least 10 years.
Carelse, who spent five-and-a-half seasons at Spurs, while they were still known as Ajax Cape Town, has suggested that the value of a player is inflated once the big teams come calling, in spite of clubs spending a lot of money to develop players.
"Ja, look, the development side of it, the clubs do spend money, but I'm not quite sure if the price is correct. I don't know what the market is, you understand? If the going rate in the PSL is R5 million, then I can understand, but I don't think a lot of deals like that happen," Carelse told KickOff.
"It's only when Chiefs, [Orlando] Pirates and [Mamelodi] Sundowns want a player, then a club starts putting the price up, you know what I mean? But I think if it were any other club, a mid-table club, the price won't be the same.
"In terms of [development money], there's rules, this FIFA development compensation fee, it's there. So, obviously Chiefs did their homework, Cape Town Spurs did their homework. If there's a compensation fee, let's be fair," he added.
"Velebayi is a tricky one. He's been at the club for a long time, so I can understand where Spurs are coming from."
The player now looks set to stay at Spurs, who opened their Motsepe Foundation Championship campaign with a 0-0 draw away to University of Pretoria on Sunday.