Percy Tau’s Brighton take on Manchester United in the Premier League this weekend.
Only thing is, Tau won’t be there. And he probably won’t be playing for the
Seagulls at all this season.
That’s because the Bafana Bafana star has been sent out on loan to Belgian club Royale Union St Gilloise.
But last year’s PSL Footballer of the Year won’t even be playing the first division. He’ll be playing in the second division - the equivalent of our NFD.
What a fall from grace for the man who was the PSL’s topscorer in the team that won the league, Mamelodi Sundowns.
It must be heartbreaking for the 24-year-old.
He must have had dreams of impressing in the Prem and competing with some of the best players in the world.
But instead Brighton boss Chris Hughton believes the South African is one for the future and wants the player to make his European bow in a backwater.
What a blow. I mean Tau is the man Bafana are hoping can lead them to the World Cup in Qatar.
It’s a wake-up call to South African that our best player is not good enough to cut it at a club like Brighton - this a club expected to struggle in the league this season.
Last year’s best, Lebogang Manyama is back in SA as a free agent after his time in Turkey ended with him hardly getting any game time.
Manyama, like Tau, was head and shoulders above the rest of the field two season ago.
And it makes you wonder just how low the reputation of South African players has
fallen not to mention the technical and tactical skills.
None of our players have made the cut in Europe’s major leagues. Keegan Dolly’s move to Montpellier also saw him sent on loan to their Ligue 2.
Another France-based Bafana player Bongani Zungu has been linked to a return to the PSL, so where does that leave us?
If the thought hasn’t crossed the mind of Tau yet, he will have to realise very quickly that he must scorch the earth under his feet in the Belgian second division if he is to be deemed worthy in Europe.
And for Safa and our clubs this must be an indictment of the development work we are doing in Mzansi.
But that’s a whole other
matter altogether.
For now it’s up to Tau to dust himself off and help his new team win promotion and hope Brighton can keep their status as a top-flight club so he can play in the Prem next season.