Fury as Masilele's move to Leicester breaks down over Konchesky

Tsepo Masilela’s life-long ambition to play in England fell apart amid a gathering storm last night when the Bafana Bafana left-back’s one-year loan move to Leicester City was scuppered by the arrival of the experienced Premier League journeyman Paul Konchesky.

Masilela’s agent is furious – Witbank-born 26-year-old Masilela, currently at Maccabi Haifa in Israel, had actually flown to Sweden, where Championship club Leicester and their former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson were on tour.

Pending a medical the season-long deal (with a subsequent option to buy) was on the verge of going through when Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish, panicked by news of Masilela’s move, cut Konchesky’s fee by around 70 percent to £1.5m (R16m).

That amounts to half of what Roy Hodgson paid his old club Fulham for Konchesky last year – but Dalglish, Hodgson’s successor at Anfield, was no fan of Konchesky. He farmed the former Charlton, Spurs, West Ham, Fulham and Liverpool full-back out to Nottingham Forest on an emergency loan last year.

Though Konchesky, 30, has played over 400 Premier League games and won two England caps under Eriksson, Dalglish was clearly influenced by the Liverpool fans, who never took to the Barking-born defender.

According to Sky Sports, Masilela’s agent Paschalis Tountouris raged: "The way Liverpool operated is totally unacceptable. The medical was okay and we were just waiting for Leicester to offer a contract. But when Liverpool saw that Tsepo was going to sign, they reduced their price by 70 per cent for Konchesky.

"Konchesky doesn't need a work permit, which was going to take 20 days for Tsepo, he is experienced in England and Eriksson knows him much better. Tsepo had his heart set on a move to England. This is unfortunately the situation, but I don't think Leicester have dealt with this issue in the proper way."

"Life goes on and he will go back to Maccabi Haifa for now. I'm sure he will get a chance at another European club."

Masilela played a major part in Maccabi Haifa’s title triumph in Israel last season and is three years into a four-year contract though he has been offered a two-year extension. With 33 Bafana Bafana caps to his credit, relegated Premier League club Birmingham City are now thought to be interested in the former Benoni United player.

Sven on £22,000-a-day in the Ivory Coast. Average salary: £3 a day. But Drogba says it's a dream

SVEN GORAN ERIKSSON’S appointment to lead the Ivory Coast into the World Cup this summer is “a dream come true” according to Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. But it's a costly dream.

Though former England and Mexico boss Eriksson, 62, could earn £22,000 a day plus unlimited expenses for his three months in charge, Drogba believes: “Sven has come at the right time. There is no doubt he will succeed. I have every belief in his ability. He knows the game. “

Yet it was Drogba, banned for two matches today over his antics when Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League a fortnight ago, who called for ex-boss Guus Hiddink to be appointed when Vahid Halihodzic left after Ivorians qualified for the finals in South Africa.

There is widespread outrage over Eriksson’s typically vast remuneration. In a nation where the average salary amounts to a mere £3 a day, the Swede – last in charge at lowly Notts County in England's League Two – has been given a flat in London, a team credit card, unlimited expenses and a salary of £270,000 plus a win bonus of £1.7m.

But to earn that bonus, Eriksson will have to negotiate a route past Brazil and Portugal, the teams that knocked his England side out in 2002 and 2006 at the quarter-final stage. North Korea also feature in a tough Group G. They will be based on the banks of the Vaal River, with qualifying matches in Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg and Nelspruit.

Drogba added: "For weeks we have been pondering going to the World Cup without a coach. Now I don't have to wake up every morning and think about the future of my team without a coach. We are going to South Africa to win big.

“This is not something I am saying alone. We can improve on our last World Cup in Germany. It has to be better this time around and I hope Sven provides us with that spirit and direction."

Ultimate success may not be a pipe-dream. The Ivorians are rated 22 in the world by FIFA. Drogba, Chelsea’s top scorer this season with 24 goals, will be backed by brothers Kolo Toure (Manchester City) and Yaya Toure (Barcelona), Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue and Chelsea team-mate Salomon Kalou in South Africa, where Sven will stay in luxury accommodation costing over £22,000.

Eriksson is no stranger to big pay packets. He racked up pay totalling £16million after stints with Man City, Mexico and Notts County since his stint with England.

The details of his bonus? On top of his basic £270,000 for three months, he will earn £180,000 bonus for qualification from Group G. He will get another £270,000 for reaching the quarter-finals and £360,000 for the semis. He will get £450,000 for reaching the final at Soccer City on July 11 and another £450,000 if they actually achieve global conquest.

And all this for a man who admits he does not speak a word of French, the official language of the Cote d'Ivoire.

See also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqck5JuZtuc