Manqoba Mngqithi may not have been the one to recommend South American striker Arthur Sales to Mamelodi Sundowns, but the coach explained that he was involved in making the decision to have the player signed.
The 22-year-old Brazilian was brought in from Belgian side Lommel SK, joining the ever growing list of South Americans to sign for the Tshwane giants.
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As usual, Sundowns followed a lengthy process after identifying the player, to ensure he was worthy of being signed. Mngqithi, who will be leading the side as head coach following the departure of Rulani Mokwena, made it clear that he was involved in the process of the player being signed, even though he was not the one to initially identify the player.
"He was not recommended by me, but I was made aware of him early enough to be able to see the capacity that he has. At Sundowns, we follow a very lengthy process in identifying players. Data, videos and then we make our own minds. I would be lying if I say I was not involved when the club decided to sign him. I also said 'yes, he is the right person to sign' because he was signed when I was already there," Mngqithi told media during the launch of the MTN8 on Wednesday.
Sales played in the pre-season matches against Al Hilal and Cardiff City, with Mngqithi admitting that he has not seen much from the player as yet. The coach, however, is well aware of the player's strengths.
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"To be honest, if I say a lot about Sales I would be lying to you because I've not seen much. Yes, he is tall, but not extremely tall like everybody makes him to look like. What I like more is that he is quick and he's got wat I normally call 'game action speed', when sometimes it's not about motoric speed, but about intellectual speed, and I like intellectual speed. He sees things earlier and he anticipates possibilities earlier and he gets into positions at the right moment because he's a little bit faster in thinking and seeing things. Technically, very sound. Very good first touch and aerially strong, but I would not say a Mame Niang type of level. For me, he is a complete striker."
