Cameroonian turns down nomads offer

• Demands K4.5m signing-on fee, K1m monthly salary

Cameroonian striker Lionel Assu has turned down an initial offer from Mighty Be Forward Wanderers and has made a counter-offer which includes a $10 000 (about K4.5 million) signing-on fee and a $2 000 (about K1 million) monthly salary.

A well-placed source confided in The Nation that the Nomads were the first to make an offer after being impressed with his performance during trials, but the West African counter-offered after being dissatisfied with the offer from Lali Lubani Road.

While confirming that Assu had turned down the initial offer, Nomads general secretary Mike Butao could not be drawn to confirm the figures.

“What I can say is that Assu is being misled by his representatives, but it is no big deal.

“We offered him our terms. The fact that we are miles apart in terms of perks expected does not mean we have given up. Obviously as a foreign player, he had his own expectations. It is an issue we have been discussing for the past three weeks and it is our intention to reach an agreement,” said Butao.

Assu could not be reached for comment yesterday, but on Tuesday he told MBC Radio 2FM that he was concerned that the Nomads are not responding to his offer.

“I gave them my offer, but there has been no response. They need to tell me their position because if they cannot manage then I can join other teams that are interested in my services.

“There are teams in countries such as Spain, France and even locally,” said Assu.

He claimed that the reason he opted for Wanderers was because he was asked by Be Forward president who is based in Japan where he once played.

The 21-year-old star had stints in Japan and Denmark, but is now a free agent. His local representative is Prince Jere who could also not be reached for comment.

However, a local sports commentator Kelvin Moyo said it is not practical for a local team to spend that much on one player.

“I very much doubt if there is a player in Malawi who gets a K50 000 monthly salary and even if Wanderers are now one of the best sponsored teams, I doubt if they can commit to paying even half of that [K1 million]. Unless, of course, if  Be Forward are prepared to pay him from a separate funding,” said Moyo.

The highest paid players in the Super League earn in the range of K30 000 to K40 000  month.

Assu’s name has been rolling off the tongues of the Nomads faithful following his impressive showing on the pitch in pre-season friendlies.

Apart from Assu, the Nomads also have Nigerian trialist Olashipe James Tolulope.