Orlando Pirates winger Tlou Segolela will give the club first preference to renew his contract, but there is no guarantee that he will stay.

Sox’s future has been a subject of speculation over the months and KickOff.com can confirm that Segolela met his business manager Tim Sukazi on Wednesday to discuss his future – the same day Pirates tried in vain to tie him down to a new contract.

Sukazi explains: “Tlou’s contract with Pirates, which expires on June 30, has an option but that option does not meet all the requirements for it to be legally binding.

“One of the most obvious and important requirement for an option to be legally binding, is that it must state the price at which it is granted by the grantor and accepted by the grantee – in simple football language, it must contain the financial figures that relate to the player’s earnings during the option period.

“If this requirement is not met, then that option is not binding in law. This would mean that the contract in question will expire on its expiry date and that option will not take effect – technically, the player concerned becomes a free agent post the expiry date of the contract.

“There have been a few cases in recent times on similar matters, the most recent of which is that between Roscoe Petersen and Chippa United which erupted just before the beginning of last season. Petersen was correctly declared a free agent by the PSL DRC pursuant to a dispute that arose under similar circumstances.” Sukazi discloses.

Be that as it may, Sukazi says his client is willing to stay at Pirates but that depends on whether “certain political hazards that resulted in Segolela seeing limited game time” in the season that just ended would be cast aside. According to Sukazi, this is his client’s main concern more than any financial considerations.

Sukazi continues: “So the next question is where would Segolela go if he fails to reach an agreement with Pirates? The answer is simple and not so simple at the same time. The simple answer is that there are just too many clubs that have shown interest in Segolela, locally and in Europe. To this end, we have already received a written proposal from a reputable European club while others have made telephonic inquiries.

“The logical move would be to first try out with a European club and if that does not materialise for any unforeseen reason, then his first preference will be to stay at Orlando Pirates. If that fails, then his options are pretty much wide on the local front.

“What I do want to emphasise, especially to the Pirates fans, is that Tlou is willing to stay at Pirates provided that circumstances do allow him,” Sukazi concludes.

So as it stands, it seems the ball is in Pirates’ court.
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