Castle Lager Premiership champions FC Platinum played their first card in the transfer matrix yesterday when they announced three new signings headlined by former Dynamos winger Jarrison Selemani.
The 25-year-old winger will don the green and white strip after spending a season at army side Cranborne Bullets.
Selemani is one of the three new signings announced by the platinum miners along with ex-Triangle United left-back Misheck Ngwenya and Perfect Chikwende, who is returning to the Zvishavane side exactly two years after he had left for greener pastures in Tanzania.
The club also announced they were parting ways with at least five players. FC Platinum, who have now kicked off their pre-season training, are likely to announce more signings in the coming days.
But it is the arrival of Jarrison that has sparked debate among the fans, with some from DeMbare feeling their team made a mistake in letting the Aces Youth Soccer Academy graduate go to Cranborne Bullets at the end of 2021, and only to merge at FC Platinum this season.
Selemani was one of the key players in Dynamos' survival during the difficult 2019 season after he was brought by Lloyd Chigowe at the start of the campaign.
The lanky winger thrives mostly on his pace down the flanks, dribbling, shooting and intelligent off-the-ball movement. He was 21-years-old when he joined DeMbare from AYSA.
FC Platinum fans may not have forgotten how he tormented their team in a league match at Mandava in his debut season in 2019 when he headed home a cross from Edward Sadomba to hand the Glamour Boys their first win against FC Platinum at Mandava in seven years.
Now 25, Selemani, who can be deployed either on the left or right flanks, appears to have matured enough to take up the challenge at FC Platinum, who have dominated domestic football for the last four seasons.
The platinum miners are also set to welcome back another winger, Chikwende, who played a key role in their third league title campaign in 2019 before he was snapped up by Tanzanian giants Simba Sports Club at the beginning of 2021.
There was no domestic topflight football in the country in 2020 but Chikwende did enough to catch the eye of Simba SC during their clash in the CAF Champions League.
He had joined FC Platinum in 2019 from Bulawayo Chiefs and won the Castle Lager Premier League title the same season as well as the Castle Lager Challenge Cup.
Chikwende scored the solitary goal in the 1-0 victory against CAPS United at the NSS in December 2019 which handed FC Platinum their third championship in a row.
But upon his return from Tanzania he retraced his footsteps back to Bulawayo Chiefs where he went on to win the Chibuku Super Cup last season. The 29-year-old is one of the several players that have recently quit Chiefs after experiencing frustrations last season due to non-payment of their salaries and bonuses.
Chikwende is savouring a reunion with coach Norman Mapeza this season.
FC Platinum's third signing Ngwenya is largely an unknown quantity. The 24-year-old left-back played at Triangle last season.
Previously, he also had stints with Greenfuel FC and Chiredzi Stars FC in the ZIFA Eastern Region Division One.
The new players are set to fill the vacancies created by the departure of five players that were released by the club recently.
Leading the exit is 33-year-old defender William Stima, who spent most of last season on the sidelines due to recurring injuries.
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Stima has been with the platinum miners since 2016 and he won four league titles and played continental inter-club football.
The Zvishavane-based platinum miners also confirmed the departure of ex-Dynamos defender Blessing Moyo, who is set for a reunion with former coach Tonderai Ndiraya at Premiership newboys Simba Bhora.
Moyo reportedly signed a two-year contract with the Shamva side. Young Nigerian forward Onifade Abubakar Temitope, Nigel Makumbe and defender Evidence Tendayi completed the list of the released players.
"A big thank you to William Stima, Blessing Sasha Moyo, Nigel Makumbe, Onifade Abubakar Temitope and Evidence Tendayi for being part of the Pure Platinum family," said FC Platinum in a statement. Interestingly veteran defender Gift Bello, who turns 39 years in May this year, is set for another dance with the platinum miners.
