Sundowns coach shares thoughts on Cupido, Adams & Esquivel’s arrival

Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has shared his thoughts on the arrival of Keanu Cupido and Jayden Adams, as well as Matias Esquivel’s return to the club.

The Brazilians beefed up their squad with the signing of Cupido and Adams while Esquivel returned from his loan spell with Club Atlético Talleres in the Argentine top-flight.

In what was the biggest moves of the January transfer window, Sundowns signed Adams from Stellenbosch FC and Cupido from Cape Town City FC.

Adams has been one of the key players at Stellies and his impressive performances earned him a regular place in the Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana squad.

Before making a high-profile move to Downs, the central midfielder made 22 appearances across all competitions for Stellenbosch this season, scoring three goals and providing one assist.

Meanwhile, Cupido had been rock solid in Cape Town City’s backline as he proved to be one of the best centre-backs in the PSL. The 27-year-old is joining Masandawana to strengthen the centre-back position, which currently has players like Mothobi Mvala, Mosa Lebusa, Grant Kekana, and Malibongwe Khoza.

Sundowns have also welcomed defender Lucas Suárez, who has signed on loan for the remainder of the season from Club Atlético Talleres.

MIGUEL CARDOSO WELCOMES COMPETITION BROUGHT BY NEW PLAYERS AT SUNDOWNS

Speaking after Sundowns’ 4-0 win over Golden Arrows in a league tie on Sunday, Cardoso said the new players are adding much-needed competition to the squad.

“The coach depends on the quality of the players; if the players can suit the idea you have about the game, that would be great,” Cardoso said.

“And I think what’s missing with this group was a player with characteristics of Matias Esquivel, eventually having a player with characteristics of Cupido to help us bring something different.

“Jayden can also give us other things. We still have Neo [Maema], Bathusi Aubaas, and we still have players that are injured that will bring other things to the team. So let them all come back so that we can manage the schedule that we have ahead.

“And it’s our choice to put the right players according to teams we’re going to face. Basically, we are happy with the group we have, and we’ll try our best to make them better players.”

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