Mamelodi Sundowns have confirmed the signing of striker Iqraam Rayners from Stellenbosch FC.

Rayners had an impressive 2023/24 season where he spearheaded the Cape Winelands side’s challenge for CAF Champions League qualification.

The move sees Rayners return to Pretoria, where he turned out unsuccessfully SuperSport United between 2020 and 2023, before returning to Stellenbosch.

He finished the season with 15 goals, and worked his way up in to Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana side. And, it shouldn’t be forgotten that he hit the net five times in their league game against Polokwane City, becoming only the second player in the PSL era to achieve the feat.

And now, his exploits from last campaign have convinced Sundowns he’s the right man to lead the club to further glory in the upcoming season. The club’s head coach Manqoba Mngqithi was confident of that.

“We are happy to have him (Rayners) because he will add something to the club,” Mngqithi said after the 28-year-old signing was completed.

“I’m looking at him more for the Champions League than the PSL. As much as he is going to help us in the PSL, I think in the Champions League that’s where he will really give us something.”

The seven-time reigning champions are bidding to go all the way in the Champions League this season, something they have not achieved since winning the competition back in 2016 under the tutelage of Pitso Mosimane.

IOL Sport