While Dithejane opted for an overseas move to Major League Soccer with Chicago Fire, Khulumani Ndamane completed a move to Betway Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

Both players excelled during their time with the Rockets and will surely be missed, but Beganovic is confident his squad has enough quality to compete, after ending last season in an impressive fifth place.

Galaxy currently find themselves in eighth place on the league standings with 21 points from 14 games - seven points adrift of leaders Orlando Pirates, from two games more.

"We've sold Khulumani to Sundowns and we also sold Puso to Chicago Fire, but we still have a good squad full of quality. It's still our goal to finish in the top eight, and I think we can achieve that," Begovic told the Sowetan.

"TS Galaxy was there before Khulumani and Puso and it'll continue to be there without them."

Beganovic explained that Galaxy planned for the players' departure, with ready-made replacements already line up.

"We've always shown that we can replace players, so I don't think we will decline now," he said.

"Our model is that before we sell, we prepare a player within the squad to take over. If you remember, Puso didn't play in our last two-to-three games because of an injury, so we already prepared [Junior] Zindonga to play at right-wing, and he played well such that he even went to AFCON with Zimbabwe.

"He [Zindonga] can give us something that Puso doesn't have, he's a little bit faster upfront and he defends well. At centre-back, remember there's Igor [Salatiel], the Brazilian guy who we had already prepared in case we sold Khulumani. But, yes, we'd like to find a left-footed centre-back.

“We always have at least two quality players in each position, so if we sell, another player immediately steps up.”

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