Orlando Pirates striker Justin Shonga denied reports suggesting he signed a pre-contract with Mamelodi Sundowns before joining the Soweto outfit.

Pitso Mosimane insisted that the 21-year-old had agreed terms with the Brazilians before joining the Buccaneers in September 2017.

However, no legal action has taken place, with the Zambian already scoring three goals and creating a further four assists from 14 appearances in all competition for Pirates this season.

Shonga revealed that he never signed a pre-contract with Sundowns, insisting that he opted to join Pirates for better game time.

‘I never signed any pre-contract with Sundowns,’ Shonga told KickOff.com.

‘I went to visit them and they showed us the contract. I said I will come and join them in January, but by then Pirates came up, and I thought about the game time, and I knew here I would have had that.

‘The coach [Milutin Sredejovic] spoke to me and he wanted to bring me here. I saw Sundowns have a good team and were together for many years.

‘I would have had a chance to play there but I opted for Pirates. But with time in my career I can still go there at Sundowns. I won’t say I won’t go there, it is football,’ he concluded.

Orlando Pirates will take on Kaizer Chiefs in their much-anticipated Soweto derby at the FNB Stadium on Saturday, with kickoff set for 15:30.