Monnapule Saleng: On-loan Pirates star wanted African giants

Monnapule Saleng has emerged as a surprise target for Moroccan giants Raja Casablanca who reportedly want to sign him permanently.

Saleng is on a season-long loan at Orbit College, who he joined after a nightmare season at Orlando Pirates in 2024-25, that he rarely featured.

The winger has had a topsy-turvy season at the newly-promoted side where he has two goals and three assists in 12 games although his coach lamented about his output early in the season.

Saleng joined Orbit College after being out of the Pirates squad for most of last season with his last appearance in the league being in November 2024, before playing a CAF Champions League game in December against Al Ahly, and he was never seen in the Bucs colours again.

Moroccan giants ‘keen’ on Saleng

Pirates have never responded over what led to the winger’s lengthy spell out but the club sent him out to Orbit College on a season-long loan to try and regain his form.

Now, according to Unplayable, Raja are looking to sign Saleng permanently and have inquired about his availability and he could make a sensational move to North Africa if Raja agree a deal with Pirates.

Raja, who are 13-time Morocco champions and three-time CAF Champions League winners, are coached by South African coach Fadlu Davids who looks to have been impressed by Saleng, who lit up the PSL before his stock fell last season.

Has Pirates star regained his form?

It remains to be seen if Saleng will make the move to North Africa as his drop in form and subsequent exclusion from the Pirates squad was due to off-field issues.

“The situation was multilayered – we are expected as players to be in top physical condition, but we go through things, we go through a loss, we go through grief, we’re human – it’s not my place to say what he went into,” Saleng’s agent Karabo Mathang-Tshabuse said on the Behind the Boot in September.

“[But] I can now say because he said on that show he’s not okay, that yes, it was a season where different kind of support was required for the player. And I think it just snowballed into more things.”