Kaizer Chiefs’ Edmilson Dove is in the unenviable position of having signed a new contract with the club, but could still be on his way out as the new Betway Premiership season begins according to reports.
Soccer Laduma reported that Dove could be asked to leave the club, with injury and the signing of new players cited as the reason.
“The team believes after acquiring Inacio Miguel they have enough defenders and they apparently don’t need Dove at all this season.
“The only unfortunate part of that is he renewed his contract for another year when they recalled him from the Mozambique Cosafa Cup team,” a source told the publication.
“He went to Turkey for the off-season (camp) where he got injured. That [injury] will be the stumbling block but they are working on his way out.
“They are planning on releasing him permanently this season even before his new contract ends in June next year. That’s the situation with Dove right now.”
Edmilson Dove Posted This Video On Instagram With This Caption: ❤️ & ✌️ La Familia
— Kabelo J Tladi (@KabeloJTladi) June 25, 2024
What Does It Mean? 😂 pic.twitter.com/Tg7nNW9R6w
Chiefs curtain drawing
Chiefs signed the Mozambican defender in August 2022, but now it appears the 30-year-old’s time at the Soweto Giants is rapidly drawing to a close.
A different source told Soccer Laduma: “He is one of the players who earns very well at Chiefs and after the new signings, the salary bill has gone a bit up and it’s straining the team’s financials and they are cutting on that and that’s why they are letting him go and also they are looking at loaning more players and selling others so that they balance their books.
“Chiefs are one of the clubs that have high salary bill and it’s killing the team in terms of their finances. So they they are working on how best they can deal with Dove for his exit from the club.”
Dove began his senior career at Ferroviario in Maputo in 2015. In total he made 36 appearances for the club which included helping the team to the league title in his first season.
Though he was unsuccessful at a trial with Portuguese club Sporting CP in 2016, a move to Cape Town City followed in 2017.
There Dove made 83 appearances for the Cape side over a five-year period before he was snapped up by Chiefs. In total, Dove has won 34 caps for the Naturena-based club.
Meanwhile, rumours have begun to do the rounds with Percy Tau linked with a possible move to Chiefs. Tau is currently contracted to Egyptian outfit Al Ahly until June next year, and new Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi has denied that the forward would be signing with his club.
“There are no negotiations with Percy Tau because I believe he still has one year left on his contract. Kaizer Chiefs respects the FIFA rules. If ever there’s an opportunity to sign him, it will be through official channels. We respect Al Ahly, they are a great team.”