Kutumela hungry to move on from Sundowns experience

STRIKER Thabiso Kutumela has opened up about his stay at Mamelodi Sundowns after sealing a move to Richards Bay.

The 31-year-old former Orlando Pirates man was unveiled amongst six new signings made by the Natal Rich Boyz on Wednesday, alongside the likes of Siyethemba Sithebe and Keegan Allan.

Kutumela signed for Sundowns in the 2021/2022 season and had a successful debut campaign where he made 27 appearances across various competitions and contributed five goals and six assists.

However, the next season he made 11 appearances and recorded no goal involvement.

The Limpopo-born forward spent last season on loan at Cape Town City where he scored three goals in 27 appearances.

Speaking to the media in Richards Bay when the club unveiled the players and announced a multimillion rand sponsorship, Kutumela opened up about his roller-coaster ride with the Brazilians.

He insisted that being on the sidelines toyed with his love for the game and that meant he had to seek better playing opportunities.

“You know why I wanted to move? It was because I was getting to a point where l’m losing this thing, (desire) in my heart for playing football. I was losing interest in it,” he told journalists.

“It was going to be hard for me to find a team if I was sitting for two seasons without playing. So, I told myself that I still wanted to play this thing that I started. I still want to finish as highly as I possibly can. I took a risk with the loan to Cape Town City so that it could help me in future,” he said.

Kutumela previously endeared himself to the KwaZulu-Natal province during his days at Maritzburg United, who now ply their trade in the second tier.

He bulged the net 14 times and recorded a further assist in his final season with the Team of Choice.

Besides loving the province, he embraced the label of being one of Richards Bay's key signings.

“I think maybe my ancestors are from KZN. You know playing for a big team and playing for other teams is not easy. Maybe I am the key signing for Richards Bay and it’s going to be easy because I come from pressure. So I just have to take it day by day and game by game to adjust to the culture of the team,” he said.

In other transfer deals, SuperSport United announced the signing of TS Galaxy captain Pogiso Sanoka on a two-year contract with an option to extend.