Austrian club SV Ried have confirmed when they expect to complete the transfer of Kaizer Chiefs captain Yusuf Maart.
Maart is close to sealing a dream move to Europe at the age of 29 after the newly-promoted Austrian Bundesliga side made him a key target in this summer’s transfer window.
The midfielder was left behind when the Chiefs squad travelled to the Netherlands for their pre-season tour and it later emerged that he stayed back to finalise a move to Europe.
Having confirmed their interest and explained that payment of a transfer fee will be required, SV Ried Sporting Director Wolfgang Fiala expects the deal to be accelerated this week so that the processing of necessary documents can begin.
When do SV Ried hope to complete Maart’s transfer?
“The goal would be to finalise it in the next two or three days, because then we would have to start certain processes,” Fiala told OONachrichten in a phone interview on Monday as quoted by Transfermark, who value Maart at 1 million Euro (R20.8 million).
Maart, who joined Chiefs in 2022 from Sekhukhune United, had come to the end of his contract last month but Amakhosi activated their one-year option and will now cash in when the transfer concludes.
The midfielder is one of the experienced players in coach Nasreddine Nabi’s squad and will leave after playing 95 games, scoring seven goals while providing eight assists, and was the man who helped deliver their first trophy in 10 years as he scored the winning goal when Chiefs beat Orlando Pirates 2-1 in the Nedbank Cup final.
Maart’s departure and the release of Venezuelan midfielder Edson Castillo means coach Nabi will have to rely on a new central midfield partnership as the two were the go-to men last term.
