Jonty Mark

By Jonty Mark

Football Editor


Bafana coach hopes Tau leaves Brighton to join Al Ahly

“They speak about Pitso (Mosimane) at Al Ahly, I think it would be a very good thing for him, to be with a coach who knows him,” added Hugo Broos.


Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has expressed his desire for Percy Tau to leave English Premier League side Brighton and join Pitso Mosimane at Egyptian giants Al Ahly.

ALSO READ: ‘I want to go to Qatar,’ says Broos as he names youthful Bafana squad

Tau has battled to get game time since returning to Brighton in January from a loan spell at Anderlecht in Belgium and he has been linked with a move to Cairo to reunite with his former head coach at Mamelodi Sundowns.

“I hope he (Tau) can leave Brighton,” said Broos, after naming Tau in his Bafana Bafana squad to take on Zimbabwe and Ghana in World Cup 2022 qualifying at the start of September.

“They speak about Pitso (Mosimane) at Al Ahly, I think it would be a very good thing for him, to be with a coach who knows him.”

On announcing a 31-man provisional squad for the World Cup qualifiers, Broos also made a general point about too many South African players not getting enough game time for their clubs.

Tau has only played just over five hours of football at Brighton this season, and was not in the starting line-up or on the bench for their opening Premier League game of the new season at Burnley on Saturday.

“There are (South African) players abroad but they don’t play, it is really a problem, they can do it now, they have had pre-seasons with their clubs and are physically ok, but you can train as much as you want, if you don’t play it is not good, you don’t have the rhythm of the game. There are a few with us (that are playing), like (Spephelo) Sithole in Belenenses.

“There is also a problem in South Africa that some clubs have an excessive number of players,” added Broos.

“It means a number of players don’t play, they are not on the bench and not even in the squad. This can be a problem for the future. If players with quality don’t play in their club, it will be difficult to select them for the next games.”

Read more on these topics

Bafana Bafana Hugo Broos Percy Tau