Lille have signed the South Africa left-back Thato Sibiya on loan from Mamelodi Sundowns, with an option to make the move permanent. Sibiya, 20, will initially join Lille's reserves.
The defender was the first-choice left-back as South Africa's Under-20 side won the Africa Cup of Nations last year, and broke into the Sundowns first team last season, making four appearances, two of them in the CAF Champions League as Cardoso's side won the competition. In January he set up a Brayan León goal as Sundowns beat Orbit College 2-0 in the South African Premiership.
Sibiya said he spoke to his former Sundowns teammate Lebo Mothiba, a former Lille and Bafana Bafana striker, before deciding to join. "I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to join LOSC. I am proud and happy to sign for this great club, and very excited and eager to start working," he said. "Before coming, I spoke with Lebo Mothiba, who was my teammate at Mamelodi Sundowns. When I told him I had the opportunity to come here, he told me not to hesitate and to go for it. He was very happy for me and spoke very positively about the club and the city."
Sundowns have previously been criticised for resisting player exits, notably in the recent cases of Kutlwano Letlhaku and Lucas Ribeiro Costa. Ribeiro eventually invoked the Lassana Diarra ruling to unilaterally terminate his contract, while Letlhaku remains at the club. The financial strength of the Motsepe family has shielded Sundowns from the pressure to sell that has forced rivals into deals, though Percy Tau's 2018 move to Brighton & Hove Albion and Cassius Mailula's 2023 switch to Toronto FC stand as past exceptions. Sibiya's exit follows Bafana Bafana winger Thapelo Maseko's move to Copenhagen last week.