NAIROBI, December 11- Harambee Stars two-time Kenyan Premier League defender of the year and Gor Mahia defensive stalwart David ‘Calabar’ Owino may not head to the Tanzanian Vodacom Premier League after all.
Sources informed Capital Sport intimated Simba SC who captured his former team mate Dan Sserunkuma have lost interest in him after he proved ‘too expensive’ and will now be forced to ‘look elsewhere’.
A top Simba official who spoke to Capital Sport said; “We are looking elsewhere. We talked to Owino’s representatives but he has proved to be too expensive for us and we cannot afford him. We will be forced to look elsewhere at the moment because we are told he also has some offers from Europe as well.”
Simba had officially written to Gor Mahia last week asking them to allow the defender to attend trials at the club, but according to Gor Mahia official Ronald Ngala, they had not responded to the request.
“I am not really sure whether he went but as far as we are concerned we never replied to the request. He still has six months to run in his contract and if any club is interested in him, then we will only agree to release him if a good deal is reached. At the moment, only Sserunkuma (Dan) and Baba Kizito (Geoffrey) are officially out of the club,” Ngala said.
The Wekundu wa Msimbazi (Reds) were looking to bolster their squad in a bid to recapture the Vodacom League and they have already snapped up Gor’s top scorer for the last two seasons Sserunkuma.
The pint-sized assassin has already started training with the club at their base in Zanzibar ahead of the weekend ‘mtani’ derby against arch rivals Yanga.
At the same time, Gor are still chasing after the signature of highly rated Muhoroni Youth attacker Ezekiel Otuoma and Ngala said they will be engaging his club in a bid to get his signature.
“We are still talking and hopefully we can get him. He still has a contract with Muhoroni and we need to engage his club more. We seriously need to fill the gaps left by Sserunkuma and Kizito and the executive will be meeting later today to narrow down on who we are chasing after,” added Ngala.
The premier league champions are set to have a tough season next year especially with the exit of the two Ugandans and the imminent departure of Owino who is a highly sought asset both within and without the continent.
However, Ngala believes they will still be highly competitive next season despite the departures.
The latest news will especially be hurting for Gor who are looking to better their continental performance next season and with the departure of key figures, that dream might just as well turn into a mirage.
