Chester demands K7.5m signing-on fee, linked with BB

Red-hot midfielder Yamikani Chester is demanding K7.5 million as signing-on fee from any club that wants to take him on board.

The Flames attacker also wants K5 million of the fee upfront and a monthly salary in excess of K800 000.

In a leaked audio, Chester is overheard telling an unidentified person that instead, the Nomads came up with a K6 million (K2 million per year) counter-offer for a three-year deal to be paid in three installments which he turned down.

Said Chester: “I told the board that I was paid K2 million for a six-month contract which expired in December and, therefore an offer of K6 million for a three-year period did not make sense.

“I suggested to them to ask the president [Thomson Mpinganjira] to consider making an upfront payment of K5 million so that the remaining K2.5 million could be paid even during the last year of my contract, but they said it could not work.

“So, that is where the deal fell through and we agreed to part ways.”

Chester also revealed that there is a club in South Africa which is offering him double the amount (K15 million) as a signing-on fee and a K3 million salary on a two-year deal.

“But my first option was Wanderers, but since we couldn’t agree, we had to call off the talks,” he said.

Wanderers spokesperson Clement Stambuli confirmed that the player demanded a K7.5 million signing-on fee.

He said: “When we negotiated further, he told us that he would revert after contacting his manager Gift Mkandawire.

“But when we met again, he stuck to his guns, saying there was no room for further discussions. Chester actually told us that there was a South African club that was offering him double the amount of signing-on fee which he had offered us.

“So, we told him that we could not manage and that whenever he wanted to return, he would be welcome as Wanderers is his home.”

Meanwhile, a well-placed source yesterday confided in Weekend Nation that the player met Nomads’ fierce rivals Nyasa Bullets on Thursday with the hope of signing him.

Said the source: “A senior member of the Bullets board [name with-held] even contacted the club’s head coach Kallisto Pasuwa, who is on holiday in Zimbabwe and  gave them the green light to sign him.

“They are supposed to continue with talks today [yesterday] and although I am not sure about the outcome of the preliminary talks, I have gathered that the player has demanded  K5 million as part of the signing-on fee upfront, but Bullets are negotiating that the amount should cover the entire deal.”

On the talks with Bullets, Chester said: “I cannot say much at this point. I will revert once there is any headway.”

His manager Mkandawire said he has not yet sat down with the player to discuss the recent developments.

On his part, Bullets chief administration officer Albert Chigoga said: “For the new players coming into the team, we will make an official statement if something concrete happens.

“Commenting on speculation is not something the club wants to do.”

Unconfimed reports also indicate that Chester is in talks with Silver Strikers.