It has emerged that Orlando Pirates will only be able to assess Ghanaian striker William Owusu in the New Year due complications.
The Sporting Lisbon striker has been heavily linked with a move to Bucs on a trial basis.
Soccer-Laduma has previously reported that Lisbon wanted a 50% sell-on fee as well as a 12 million Euro (over R160 million) payout to allow him to leave the club.
It was thought that negotiations for the player to be released by Lisbon were close to being resolved.
However, it now seems talks between the player’s representatives and the club have since not progressed as expected.
It also later emerged that the striker was going to train with Bucs before complications with his wife’s pregnancy back in Ghana scuppered a planned trip to South Africa.
The latest update on the striker’s situation is that Pirates are still open to taking a look at Owusu.
However, it appears the legal issues between Lisbon and the player must first be cleared up before a trial period at Bucs can take place.
This was revealed to the Siya crew by the player’s agent, Ralph Nkomo, who said, “They think he’s a big name and they want a big payout. I mean we’d agreed in August to cancel his contract, but now they’ve changed their minds. I’m not going to take this to Fifa though. Sometimes it just takes a face-to-face meeting and then it gets worked out. He can’t play matches at the moment because he knows if he plays then the contract (with Lisbon) kicks in. What I’m planning is to bring him across during the transfer window and then see if we can come to some sort of an agreement.â€
Owusu spent last season on loan to Westerlo in Belgium where he was reported to have scored 11 goals in 25 appearances.