#Czech giant’s Slavia Prague sniffing around
#‘P3 million and he’s yours!’ Dynamos tell suitors
Less than six months into his Zambian adventure, the golden boy of Botswana football, Mothusi ‘Mini’ Copper could be heading further north.
The talented 23-year-old midfielder is a footballer in demand.
Top teams in both Egypt and Czech Republic, including last season’s Europa League quarter-finalists Slavia Prague, are desperate to secure Cooper’s services.
However, they will have to pay big bucks, with Copper’s current club, Lusaka Dynamos reportedly putting a P3 million price tag on his head.
If that figure is accurate, it marks a huge increase from the P450, 000 Dynamos forked out for the former Township Rollers man in January.
Both Prague – gunned down 5-1 by English heavyweight’s Arsenal in the Europa League last 16 – and Egyptian suitors, Ennpi FC have the finances to meet such a fee.
Less than halfway through a two-year contract with Dynamos, Cooper’s agent, Bakang Moipone recently flew out for a meeting with the club’s officials to discuss the possibility of letting the star go.
Understandably given Cooper’s impressive form since joining the Zambian Super League outfit, Dynamos are in no hurry to part ways with the midfield marvel.
“We left for Zambia on Friday to negotiate with his employers to release him. His contract runs until the end of 2022. Either way they are going to benefit and his former club, Rollers because it is there in the contract that they will get a certain percentage in his future moves,” Moipone told Voice Sport shortly after touching down in Botswana on Wednesday.
Reluctant to go into any great detail on the negotiations, Moipone admitted Dynamos hold all the cards.
“Dynamos have every right to refuse and if they say they are not selling, we just have to respect the contract. We are hoping to reach an agreement for the growth of the player,” concluded the agent.
Should Dynamos decide to sell, Rollers will also be in for a bumper pay day. According to the clubs’ agreement, Popa are entitled to 15 percent of any future sale involving Cooper.
The Tsabong native has been a revelation since signing for Dynamos at the end of January.
As well as helping his new side to a 7th place league finish, Cooper put in a man-of-the-match display in the ABSA Cup [Zambia’s biggest cup competition] guiding Dynamos to victory over the heavily fancied Zesco United.
The result, 3-1 on penalties after a goalless 90 minutes, denied Zesco the chance of a league/cup double.
It’s not all been good news for the dreadlocked dribbler, however, as he sadly missed out on the national team’s just-ended COSAFA campaign due to Covid-19.
Having tested positive for the virus when he initially met up with the squad in Gaborone, a second test, conducted the following day, came back negative. But by then the Zebras had already departed for South Africa.
“The association released a statement that I am positive but they did not inform the public that I tested negative the following day, which is why I posted my results on social media. I was under pressure because I was not free to walk in the mall when people know I was positive,” explained Cooper, whose social media shenanigans apparently did not go down well with the BFA hierarchy.
Struggling to cope mentally, and feeling let down by the association, Cooper took the difficult decision to miss the tournament.
“I decided not to join the team in South Africa because my mind was not in a good state. After I tested positive, I was told to go on isolation, they did not even bother to tell me where! Imagine, I no longer stay in Botswana and I was there on national duty, now I was told to find a place for isolation,” said Cooper, who ended up staying with his sister.
“I feel the whole situation was not given the seriousness it deserves and I was hurt,” he added.
Despite this cruel setback, happier times look to be on the horizon for one of the brightest talents of the local game.
