Muguna left in no man’s land as Gor, Tirana tussle

Gor Mahia midfielder Kenneth Muguna (right) shields the ball away from Thika United's Wilson Anekeya during their SportPesa Premier League match at Thika Sub-County Stadium on September 17, 2017. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |

What you need to know:

  • Kenyan Premier League side Gor Mahia and Albania’s FKF Tirana have failed to agree on the long talked about transfers of Kenneth Muguna.
  • At the same time Gor have been unable to re-sign their Premiership winning captain Musa Mohammed, whose contract has expired. Incidentally, Tirana area also chasing after his signature.
  • Gor Mahia are accusing Tirana of “playing games” after failing to pay an agreed transfer amount of $40,000 (about Sh4 million) for Muguna - the 2016 KPL MVP, and for dragging their feet in signing Musa Mohammed.

Kenyan Premier League side Gor Mahia and Albania’s FKF Tirana have failed to agree on the long talked about transfers of Kenneth Muguna.

At the same time Gor have been unable to re-sign their Premiership winning captain Musa Mohammed, whose contract has expired. Incidentally, Tirana area also chasing after his signature.

Gor Mahia are accusing Tirana of “playing games” after failing to pay an agreed transfer amount of $40,000 (about Sh4 million) for Muguna - the 2016 KPL MVP, and for dragging their feet in signing Musa Mohammed.

The two players have consequently been left out of K’Ogalo’s squad for the Confederation of African Football Champions League whose submission deadline expired at midnight Monday.

Musa’s contract with K’Ogalo ran out Monday, but Muguna still has two years of his contract to serve out.

A terse letter dated January 5 and addressed to Tirana’s secretary general shows Gor chairman Ambrose Rachier expressly saying that unless they are paid the agreed transfer fee of Sh4 million, K’Ogalo will not finalise his transfer process.

“We stand by the contents of our letter to your president. Kindly be advised that we will proceed with finalizing the transfer process upon receipt of the agreed amount,” the letter reads.

Gor deputy secretary general Ronald Ngala on Monday said that this letter has remained unanswered since then, although Tirana have been trying to acquire an International Transfer Certificate for Muguna.

“Tirana are playing games. Muguna was quite expensive, and he still has a contract with the club. More than that, we have an agreement with Western Stima that they will be entitled to a certain fee from any transfer he makes. So how can we let him go for free?

“I’m concerned that all this may affect Muguna’s career because at the moment he is neither here nor there. For Musa the situation is a little easier because his contract has already ended and he opted not to renew it. I am just concerned that the club is doing things very slowly. If they were serious they should have signed him already,” Ngala said.

The two players have been pushing for their release from the club to join Tirana under the influence of former Gor coach Marcelo Fereira who is currently head coach at the Albanian club.

Musa has been at Gor for the last nine years, and rose to become captain after the retirement of goalkeeper Jerim Onyango in 2016.

Muguna, who is capped twice, boasts of a two-year experience in the top flight where he has fast carved a reputation as a classy attacking midfielder, with wonderful ball skills.

He was plucked out of Western Stima in January last year at a fee reported to be Sh2 million, and he managed three goals and nine assists which aided the club win an unprecedented 16th league title in 2017.

Tirana are looking to boost their squad having already snapped the Ugandan duo of midfielder Tony Mawejje and striker Yunus Sentamu.

They are known for their big appetite for Kenyan players, and have previously employed the likes of James Situma, Moses Arita, and Francis Kahata in 2014.