Chippa United chief operations officer Lukhayo Mzinzi said the selling of their No 1 shot-stopper Daniel Akpeyi to Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs was a good business move. The 32-year-old Nigerian goalkeeper pinned down a contract with the Glamour Boys on Thursday‚ just hours before the Premier Soccer League transfer window closed at midnight on Thursday. Mzinzi said it was best to sell the player now‚ as his contract with the Chilli Boys was coming to an end in six months.
“Chiefs made a very good offer to the club. We considered that Daniel is in his last six months of his contract. As much as he is one of our most consistent and valuable members‚ we could not let him go for free. We think we have made a good business move by selling him before his contract ends. We thank [him for] his loyalty to the club. Through him our club is known beyond South Africa‚ because he was one of the members for the World Cup squad for Nigeria. We also got some incentives through that. This is a second time now that we are getting an incentive through him in terms of selling him before this contract ends.” Mzinzi told TimesLIVE on Thursday.
“We want to thank him and his family. We want to thank [him for] his professionalism‚ we wish him all the best for the future. We release him with a very open heart.” Akpeyi joined Chippa in 2015, coming from Warrior Wolves of Nigeria. Chiefs will be his second South African team. The Super Eagles star was the only PSL player to be at the World Cup in Russia last year‚ which saw Chippa boss Siviwe Mpengesi bag a whopping R3.3-million in December 2018. The selling of Akpeyi comes at a crucial time when Chippa are starting to get their form back, having accumulated two consecutive wins after a 10 league match winless streak.
However‚ Mzizni said Chippa were spoilt for choice when it comes to their goalkeeping department. He said former Platinum Stars goalie Mbongeni Mzimela would take up from where Akpeyi left off. “We have a highly rated Mzimela‚ Veli Mothwa and a young upcoming goalkeeper that has been training with us‚” he said.
Akpeyi began his career with Gabros International F.C. and was promoted to the first team in 2005, but moved to Nasarawa United F.C. in January 2007. He was an undisputed starter for both clubs. Akpeyi joined Heartland F.C. for their 2010 CAF Champions League campaign, and was again first-choice. In February 2014, it was announced that he had left Heartland to join league rivals Warri Wolves, but a few days later, Heartland denied the move by an official statement, stating that they had no intention to sell their first choice goalkeeper. In the following month, however, the deal was confirmed again and Akpeyi joined Warri Wolves. In 2015, he signed a two-year deal with Chippa.
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