Chiefs' Castro U-Turn!

Leonardo Castro was well on his way out of Naturena during the off-season, with Kaizer Chiefs desperate to have their Colombian striker agree to a settlement to terminate his contract a year before it was up. Fast-forward to four months later and there has been a drastic U-turn, Siya sources having exclusively informed the crew that the attacker is on the verge of fresh talks at Amakhosi to extend his stay!

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And Castro has backed it up with his form, too, reigniting his partnership with talisman Khama Billiat from their days together at Mamelodi Sundowns and winning over coach Ernst Middendorp, who had been very critical of his work rate. The crew has it on good authority that Chiefs are now keen to hold on to Castro, who now seems to have a lot more going for him than a few months ago.

What the Siya crew has been told…

In July this year, Kaizer Chiefs were ready to ship out striker Leonardo Castro and were ready to listen to offers from potential suitors at the right price.

How a lot has changed since!

According to Siya sources, there has been a dramatic turn of events at Naturena concerning the future of their Colombian hitman and indications are that Chiefs are keen to discuss Castro’s long-term future – and they want it to be with them.

Siya sources have informed the crew that there are talks between the player and Chiefs to open up contract talks, with the biggest drawcard said to be the fact that Castro will be eligible to apply for permanent residency next year and register as a local instead of taking up one of the five foreign spots allocated to the club.

Chiefs had confirmed during the off-season that they were open to offers for Castro, but needed to recuperate the R3 million spent on him when they lured him from Mamelodi Sundowns in January last year to sanction a sale.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks was the fact that the player still had a contract until June next year, which remains the case, and that the Chiefs hierarchy would have had to approve a sizeable settlement fee to terminate his services with immediate effect.

The Siya crew reported at the time that Amakhosi wanted around R4 million, but though there were several clubs showing interest – especially from North Africa – the asking price was simply too high.