Royce Malatji

Central Defender - Katsina United
3 May 2029
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Marked for Royce Malatji

125 Edition

The Katsina United Herald

18 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad18 Dec 2028

A knee injury of the worst kind for John Noble

44 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Katsina United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market18 Dec 2028

Amadi James asks to leave Katsina United

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad18 Dec 2028

Tochukwu Ogbadibo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad18 Dec 2028

A row about effort at Katsina United

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Faisal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad18 Dec 2028

Henry Awaziem stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Henry Awaziem and Katsina United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

The dugout18 Dec 2028

Royce Malatji gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market18 Dec 2028

The Sani Faisal question follows Katsina United around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Sani Faisal’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

The dugout18 Dec 2028

Moses Adikwu asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market18 Dec 2028

David Onovo placed on the list

Katsina United have made David Onovo available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

Back issues
102 Edition

The Katsina United Herald

10 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Transfer targets10 Jul 2028

Fee done, terms next for Miracle Ukadike

Katsina United and Warri Wolves have settled on $32.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.

Match8 Jul 2028

The wait goes on for Katsina United

5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Market10 Jul 2028

Only the photograph left for Muhammad Suleiman

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Muhammad Suleiman will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Katsina United the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Transfer targets10 Jul 2028

Oriyomi Lebi due for a Katsina United medical

Everything agreed with Rangers International, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad10 Jul 2028

A row about effort at Katsina United

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Afeez Bankole was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad10 Jul 2028

Usman Barau in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Katsina United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad10 Jul 2028

Alagie Sanyang is a square peg at Katsina United

The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.

Market10 Jul 2028

Katsina United and Alagie Sanyang are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Squad10 Jul 2028

Royce Malatji signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Royce Malatji and Katsina United agree another 4 years.

In brief

101 Edition

The Katsina United Herald

3 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match1 Jul 2028

Chastening afternoon for Katsina United

A 0‑3 beating by Kano Pillars was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Market3 Jul 2028

Terms done: Muhammad Suleiman is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Niger Tornadoes waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Katsina United is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Market3 Jul 2028

Afeez Bankole is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Katsina United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Market3 Jul 2028

Ekebuike James hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.

Transfer targets3 Jul 2028

No thanks: Aminu Sani rejects the move

Katsina United had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Kano Pillars, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Match1 Jul 2028

No end in sight to Katsina United's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Katsina United has to find a result from somewhere.

Boardroom3 Jul 2028

Afeez Bankole signs for Rivers United while still at Katsina United

The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Afeez Bankole has agreed terms with Rivers United for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.

Transfer targets3 Jul 2028

Door shut on Aminu Mohammed

Katsina United asked and Kano Pillars said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad3 Jul 2028

Royce Malatji gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Royce Malatji has just signed for Katsina United, and for once the answer mattered.

In brief