Former Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs coach Augusto Palacios has advised Premier Soccer League clubs to plan for the long term when signing players.
This has been one of the busiest transfer windows in South African football with the Soweto giants refusing to be outshone by the other.
Palacios says even though it is nice to see teams strengthening their squads as it will provide more competition, clubs need to do so accordingly.
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"In my opinion when you have a development structure, you will have plenty of players to choose for your first team," Palacios tells KickOff.
"Pirates already have a centre-back from last season, they have a midfielder...so they've already promoted five from their development. And it benefits them.
"You can’t always promote your youngsters and keep loaning them repeatedly. You can’t always be loaning players you never bring back to the club.
"We've all seen how many players Pirates and Chiefs have brought in already, but this planning of signing players needs to be planned on a long-term basis, not in the short term, I believe.
"You should know before every season which players you need to sign and where the gap is. Because sometimes you can sign a player, only to find that particular player doesn't want to play.
"What I like about Chiefs and Pirates is that they have signed players they believe are gonna help them in the league next season.
"Pirates have signed Appollis and also Sipho Mbule, and Chiefs have some good players, as long as they don't undermine the so-called small teams.
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"Before signing any player, you need to know exactly which position your team needs strengthening.
"Only go to the market if you don't find players in your DDC team, or your development team. Signing players is not a must.
"The player you sign must have at least three to four years in your squad. That's a long-term signing."
Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
