- AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda says will not gamble on the signings. as they try to recover from financial constraints, they will only accept Duncan Otieno as a free agent.
Otieno joined Zambian Super League giants Nkana Red Devils in 2018, and his deal will be due in less than four months.
He featured for the Zambian side with the former Gor Mahia skipper Harun Shakava. And Leopards have been linked with a move for his teammate Shakava based on his performance history.
Nkana Red Devils have been hit particularly hard by the effects of Covid-19 forcing them to halt the contracts of international players.
AFC Leopards boss does not want to risk another financial crisis by getting involved in expensive signings despite the fact that they securred a three-year deal sponsorship deal worth Sh120 million with European-based betting firm Betsafe.
“I can neither confirm nor deny that we are interested in Duncan and Harun, but I think both of them are still contracted at Nkana. We don’t want to find ourselves into a situation whereby the club make a crazy asking price because they have seen we have gotten a new sponsor,” Shikanda said.
“But at the moment, Duncan is out of reach. I wish he was a free agent. However, if he is personally interested to come back, we will take him. He’s a big player and we all know his abilities.”
“We believe in continuity and that is why we are going to be cautious on the players we sign and release. But for a fact we have a very young and strong team that can continue working together for years to come. Therefore, we are not going to gamble on any signings.
“Though our football is facing some uncertainty, we are talking to a number of players to see how best we can strengthen the team with the little resources we have. We will definitely have some few exits. We are trying to handle them amicably, so that we can part ways with those who will not be of use to us.” He added
