Zimbabwean international left-back Divine Lunga is back at Mamelodi Sundowns after spending the 2022/23 season at Golden Arrows on loan.
He joined Sundowns from Golden Arrows in 2021 but struggled for game time in his first season at the club.
Lunga was loaned back to Golden Arrows for the 2022/23 DStv Premiership season, where he impressed in 30 games across all competitions. However, he returned to Sundowns for the start of the 2023/24 season.
Despite returning to Sundowns, Lunga has yet to feature this season. He has also not appeared on the bench for Masandawana. This has led to speculation about his future at the club.
DIVINE LUNGA AWAITING HIS PERMANENT RESIDENCY PERMIT
However, FARPost can confirm Lunga is awaiting his Permanent Residency permit, which would allow the club to register him as a local.
The Bulawayo-born star is eligible for Permanent Residency after spending the last five years in the country. He has already applied for it and awaits approval before returning to playing.
Recently, Sundowns attacker Gaston Sirino received his citizenship. Lunga will be eager to get that sorted so that he can return to playing football.
The Fifa ban on Zimbabwe has been lifted, and the Warriors will soon play the Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
The Warriors play their opening qualifier against Rwanda on 13 November. Besides Rwanda, they also have Bafana Bafana, Nigeria, Lesotho, and Benin in Group in Group C of the 2026 qualifiers.
Zimbabwe last played international football at the 2022 Afcon finals in Cameroon. They missed eight matches of the 2023 Afcon finals and will need to regroup in November to bounce back strong.
Golden Arrows are reportedly interested in re-signing Lunga on loan, but he looks likely to stay at Chloorkop.
Lunga is a talented left-back with good attacking qualities. He is also a versatile player who can play in central defence. He hopes to get regular game time this season to convince national selectors to pick him for the qualifiers.
However, Sundowns have a number of solid left-backs in their squad, including Bafana Bafana international Aubrey Modiba and Terrence Mashego. This means that Lunga faces stiff competition for a starting place. Lunga had a good pre-season but has to wait on the sidelines for his documentation.
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