The Siya crew has been informed that defender Bongani Sam is ready for a fresh start away from Orlando Pirates. Sam will spend the upcoming 2023/24 season on loan at Soweto rivals Swallows FC yet again, confirmation he is not in coach Jose Riveiro's plans just as it has been the case with his predecessors.
In fact, the Buccaneers had initially agreed a deal with Maritzburg United this time last year for the left back to be part of John Maduka's squad with a final decision only to be made at the end of the campaign.
However, Sam then moved to the Dube Birds in January when Maduka, a coach he knows from the Bloemfontein Celtic days, was sacked and Fadlu Davids brought in as his immediate replacement. Although Davids had also previously worked closely with Sam during his Pirates stint, the club had already made the call to offload the player.
Sam joined Pirates from Celtic in 2019 while Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic was in charge of the club before quitting abruptly three games into the campaign and leaving Rhulani Mokwena in the hot seat. With injuries and the Soweto giants changing coaches between now and then, the former junior international has struggled to nail down a regular spot in the team, though he is believed to be keen on moving on.
Swallows could very well attempt to hold on to him permanently, but that will depend on how he fares under new coach Steve Komphela.
