Xulu looking for last big contract

Maritzburg United defender Siyanda Xulu is pondering his next move with his contract set to expire in June, though he has not ruled out staying at the KwaZulu-Natal side.

Xulu has been a key part of the Maritzburg set-up in the last few seasons, having endured a difficult spell at Kaizer Chiefs previously.

He has been linked with their Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates, but agent Paul Mitchell says his next contract is an important one given his age, and could be his last big deal, which could inform his decision.

"We've had some discussions previous to COVID-19 with Maritzburg, and that continues,” Mitchell told the South African Football Journalists' Association. “From Siyanda's point of view, his next deal is important to him because he's turning 29 in December this year.

"So he's going into his sort of twilight years of his career in terms of being able to earn good money, so that's in the forefront of his mind.

"It's more basically now about being able to get him the best possible deal that would suit him financially and start to put him onto planning for his after-football life and, at the same time, the right project.”

Mitchell says there is nothing to suggest, at this stage, that the player will leave Maritzburg, but a return abroad, having previously played in Russia, would be an attractive move.

"He's been very, very happy at Maritzburg. They're a fantastic club with a family atmosphere and he's worked under coaches like Eric [Tinkler] and Fadlu [Davids], which he's enjoyed a lot.

"But at the moment, it's a question of just looking at what's out there. His preference, I'll be honest with you, would be to go abroad if that opportunity came, but it has to be the right opportunity. He wouldn't want to just go anywhere.

“At the moment nothing is done. There’re no pre-contracts. There's been no negotiations apart from with Maritzburg, obviously, and we'll just see."