Can Pitso revive Tau’s career?
When Percy Tau left Mamelodi Sundowns for Brighton & Hove Albion on July 20, 2018, he departed South Africa as acult hero after winning the DStv Premiership, CAF Champions League and CAF Super Cup in the previous season under Pitso Mosimane.
The coach himself questioned Tau’s readiness for Europe at the time but the record R50-million deal was lauded by fans, as the Witbank-born talent became the symbol of hope for local football. His meteoric rise from reserve team football and a National First Division loan stint at Witbank Spurs to the English topflight was easy to celebrate, but the joy was short-lived as work-permit issues prevented Tau from representing the English club.
Three separate loans followed with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, the affiliate club of the Seagulls, where he won the Proximus Player of the Season, Club Brugge, where he won the Jupiler Pro League and starred in the UEFA Champions League, and Vincent Kompany’s Anderlecht, where he also settled well.
However, when the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union changed the strict rulings in the English top-flight that now allowed Bafana Bafana’s attacking talisman to be registered in the Premier League – it offered new hope that we would see the‘Lion of Judah’amongst the superstars of world football.
But after just six months and three
