Billiat's Dynamos deal stalled

DYNAMOS had principally sealed their prime target Khama Billiat's deal before news about his availability triggered a stampede across the top echelons of the league last week, Zimpapers Sports can reveal.

The Glamour Boys appeared to have hit the jackpot, agreeing on almost everything with the former Warriors star who was scheduled to jet into the country ready to put pen to paper on Thursday last week.

But once they failed to be a fraction more patient and decided to let the cat out of the bag, some scramble for the talisman's signature was always bound to ensue.

With Manica Diamonds, Ngezi Platinum, and CAPS United all tabling lucrative offers, Billiat saw an opportunity to cash in on his brand and delayed flying back to Zimbabwe to sign the contract with DeMbare.

He has not shut the door on the Harare giants where he had already requested for the Number 12 jersey to be reserved for him but Dynamos will have to dig deeper than what they had initially done before their rivals realised that Billiat was there for the taking.

The 33-year-old is currently club-less after seeing off his stay with South African giants Kaizer Chiefs which he refused to renew in June last year. He has failed to lure any interest in South Africa and he has decided to rejoin the local league which he briefly played back in 2010, turning out for CAPS United before he joined South African side Ajax Cape Town.

Billiat has been one of the biggest names in the South African football trenches over the past 14 years and he is inevitably the talk of the town at the moment ever since Zimpapers Sports exclusively revealed what was supposed to be his imminent deal with Dynamos last week. Now a source impeccable to the negotiations has revealed that the Dynamos deal was as good as done.

"Dynamos ought to have been a bit more patient as they just had to wait for Billiat to sign the contract before they went public last week.

"Trust me, Billiat wanted to sign the deal and everything had been agreed upon," he said.

"Billiat was supposed to arrive on Thursday in the morning for the formalities.

"But the Dynamos hierarchy failed to play their cards close to their chests.

"They started telling even the other players at the club (about the deal). They told everyone including their ancillary staff.

"At the end of the day, the information reached the media, and other social media outlets published it.

"Rival clubs then realised that Billiat was ready to play in the local Premiership. They started to bid and outbid each other.

"Even Dynamos have upped their stake as they try to fend off competition from other teams. "Otherwise Dynamos should have sealed the deal last week. Billiat even delayed coming here as he wanted to take the best offer . . .

"At the moment, he is busy analysing what's on the table from all the teams who have expressed their desire to have him in their ranks." Dynamos though remain the front-runners to take in one of the best players to ever emerge from this country.

He was scheduled to arrive in the country over the weekend and head straight to the negotiation tables with the interested clubs with the start of the season billed for the next fortnight. Billiat has been training alone sometimes at the Pretoria High Performance Centre but he will need time to fully adjust to the demands of the local Premiership as he hasn't played competitive football for close to nine months.

Dynamos, who are the country's representatives in the CAF Confederation Cup, and Ngezi Platinum Stars who will play in the CAF Champions League offer Billiat a platform to play in the continental club competitions once again.

But he might as well decide to rejoin CAPS United who gave him a platform to showcase himself as an academy product when no one believed in him some 14 years ago.

The coach, who invested his faith in him back then, Lloyd Chitembwe is the one at the helm of Makepekepe and it won't be surprising to see him opting to board the Green Machine ship.