Neal Collins soccer Charlton Athletic are set to sign a second South African in their bid to keep the unfashionable South London club riding high in the Premiership.
Manager Alan Curbishley is on the verge of luring Bafana Bafana striker Shaun Bartlett from Swiss club FC Zurich.
Curbishley, the highly rated Latics boss who was added to the growing Team England coaching set-up last week, has had Bartlett watched since June this year and is eager to take him on loan at The Valley until the end of the season.
A 2-million (R22-million) deal will be sealed in the summer if both parties are satisfied with what they’ve seen. Sven Hopz, president of FC Zurich, said: “We want to keep Shaun until our winter break in a couple of weeks but the deal is nearly done.”
Curbishley signed Bartlett’s Bafana team-mate Mark Fish from Bolton just a fortnight ago and the big Pretorian is believed to have put in a word for his compatriot once Curbishley failed to land Wimbledon’s Welsh striker John Hartson.
Fish has settled quickly after his controversial cut-price 850?000 move, and seems to have put the harsh criticism of previous boss Sam Allardyce who claimed the defender was not trying behind him.
Last Saturday Orlando Pirates old boy Fish and his new defensive team-mates saw off Chelsea’s multinational millionaires 2-0, effectively denying Dutch ace Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink a route to goal.
Such feats are rare and Charlton are beginning to gain recoginition for such results. Charlton are now seventh in the Premiership, a mere 12 points or four wins adrift of Manchester United.
But they have only scored 21 goals, which is where Bartlett comes in. Bartlett (28) has played for South Africa 48 times (scoring 18 goals) and it is hoped he will forge an instant understanding with former Rangers striker Jonatan Johansson, their Scandinavian top scorer.
Bartlett’s arrival will lift the South African Premiership contingent to an all-time high of four, with Fish, Lucas Radebe of Leeds and Manchester United’s Quinton Fortune.
Benni McCarthy, currently playing for Spain’s Celta Vigo, and Siyabonga Nomvete could soon join them both have been linked to Aston Villa in recent months.