Silver Strikers hijack Vitumbiko Kumwenda deal

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Silver Strikers FC have agreed a deal with Blue Eagles to sign midfielder Vitumbiko Kumwenda for an undisclosed fee.

The 26-year old winger had earlier this year signed for Be Forward Wanderers after he terminated his contract with the Area 30 based side which was expiring in December.

Initially, Wanderers had offered to pay MK3 million for the services of the player but Eagles rejected the offer, saying they were looking for not less than K3.5 million.

This then forced the Lali Lubani boys to pull out of the deal, a decision that irked the player who ended up terminating his contract by returning back his monthly salary of MK95 000.

This development saw his parent club lodging a complaint to FAM before the deal was nullified by the country’s soccer government body.

Now, months down the line, there is a new development in the transfer saga as the Central Bankers and their Area 30 counterparts have reached an agreement to sign the player.

A statement released by Eagles on Wednesday said the Area 47 side did not use any ‘dubious means’ to tap the player from Area 30.

“This is to officially inform all that Vitumbiko Kumwenda is now a Silver Strikers player with immediate effect from today.

“Silver Strikers didn’t use any dubious means to tap the player from Blue Eagles FC as they followed all necessary procedures and fulfilled the requirements set by the club.

“We thank Vitumbiko for his faithful service to Blue Eagles FC and we wish him all the best for the future,” reads the statement.

However, reports are now circulating that the player has turned down the move, saying he did not sign any contract with the Central Bankers.

“There is no agreement between Vitumbiko and Bankers,” he said on his official Facebook account.

It has also been reported that Wanderers were planning to meet Blue Eagles’ asking price for the player before Silver Strikers’s decision to hijack the deal.

Meanwhile, one of the soccer analysts in the country George Chiusiwa says such conduct of football business should not  be acceptable.

“It’s been a while since we started hearing of this Vitumbiko Kumwenda drama. And it smacks of some deficiencies in running our game particularly on player transfers.

“In all fairness this somehow brings the game into disrepute for it may seem that appropriate authorities are not working when the football powers are doing all they can behind the scenes to bring sanity to the beautiful sport.

“Jungle justice is also the norm when complaints are brought to the established football grievance handling mechanisms. We can do better,” he said.

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