ICYMI: Pitso insists he hasn’t ‘killed the career’ of Percy Tau
Pitso Mosimane has said his ‘conscience is clear’, although he is ‘sad’, to have left Bafana star Percy Tau at Al Ahly.
Notably, Bafana Bafana attacker Percy Tau recently made a return to action after another lengthy injury layoff, which came amidst reports that he had been placed on the transfer list by Al Ahly alongside Luis Miquissone, with the Egyptian league season drawing to a close.
In the latest news, according to iDiski Times, Tau has unfortunately picked up a muscle injury recently and now looks set to miss Al Ahly’s four remaining league games of the season.
This could be another major setback for the South African, who has previously been singled out as a player with perennial injury problems that have been part of the reasons for him falling out of favour.
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Recent reports suggest that Anderlecht have shown interest in re-signing Tau, with the talented playmaker having previously spent a season on loan with the Belgian outfit from Brighton & Hove Albion.
Of course, Tau was lured from English Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion to Cairo by Mosimane, but the decision of the coach to leave Al Ahly in a shock exit earlier this year has placed a spotlight on the future of the 28-year-old.
Speaking at the handover ceremony of his CAF Pro coaching licence at Safa House in Nasrec, Mosimane has spoken about the difficult of leaving Tau behind, especially considering he has struggled for regular game-time ever since.
“Yes, I feel sad that I left him there – but I left him in a big team,” Pitso said, as quoted by City Press.
“Let’s be honest, Percy didn’t have other issues – he just couldn’t make the [Brighton] team. The coach [Graham Potter] felt he couldn’t make the team. And remember, everybody questioned why he’d come to Al Ahly.
“I told Percy: ‘You have LaLiga [in Spain], the Serie A [in Italy], Ligue 1 [in France] and the Bundesliga [in Germany]. Check in those spaces and if you have something, stay there. But if you don’t have anything in those spaces, at least you’ll get to go to the [Fifa Club] World Cup with me [at Al Ahly].’
“Now everybody says: ‘Ja, Pitso o bolaile career ya mfana o! [Pitso killed this boy’s career!]’ What career did I kill? I spoke to him and Percy’s smart. He looks after himself and he’s not a guy who’s killed by off-field things. I told him and his agent that I’m just a call away.
“My involvement [in Tau’s move] and my being there is a different story when I’m not there – but I also had to do what I did [leave Al Ahly]. And, by the way, Percy didn’t come for less money than he’d received at Brighton. My conscience is clear,” he added.
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It remains to be seen if Tau will stay or go from Al Ahly
According to Egyptian news website and television channel Sada El-Balad, Anderlecht may have tabled on an offer of USD 2 million (approx. R33,38 million) for Tau. However, some rumours suggest Al Ahly’s evaluation is double that amount.
“The Belgian club Anderlecht offered Al-Ahly management $2 million to buy Percy Tau once and for all in the upcoming summer window,” the report states.
“Al Ahly officials reserved the value of Anderlecht’s offer to include Percy Tau and requested $4 million (approx. R67,7 million) to agree to complete the deal at a minimum in the next summer transfer window in the new season.”
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