. LUCHANGA

By GWEN CHIPASULA –
LUSAKA Dynamos say they will now open talks with other premiership sides over the transfer of teenage striker Conlyde Luchanga following the collapse of talks with league champions Zesco United.
And Lusaka Dynamos have said the collapse of talks with Zesco was triggered by the fall of the Kwacha to the United States dollar.
Terming Zesco United’s handling of Luchanga’s transfer negotiations as unprofessional, Lusaka Dynamos said they were gravely disappointed with the Ndola side, a club they have been doing business with for more than five years.
Dynamos chairperson Mofya Chisala said in an interview yesterday that his club had other offers on the table but decided to talk to Zesco only because of the business relationship it has had with them over a five-year period.
“But they acted unprofessionally by going outside the talks to tell us how they feel. We gave them a price and as we were waiting for their response, we see their feelings in the media that we had overpriced the boy,” he said.
The struggling side had demanded US$10,000 for a two-year loan deal.
Kitwe side Power Dynamos have now appeared as the side to have talks with Lusaka Dynamos over Luchanga although there is another offer waiting from the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) side Red Arrows.
“We are not the ones that determine the dollar rate. We just said $10,000 because that is how it has been for five years now. The transfer fee for players going on loan has always been like that,” Mofya said.
The Kwacha has depreciated by more than 40 per cent to a US dollar over the last three months.
Mofya said the club would now switch to look at other offers they received from other interested clubs.