Saturday | January 9, 2021

At long last, the golden South African superstar Percy Tau will play in the (English) Premier League (PL). The long-drawn wait is finally over.

After his mesmerizing performances in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in South Africa with Mamelodi Sundowns FC, Tau was the talk of the oversee football clubs.

His move from Sundowns in 2018 to Brighton and Hove Albion in England was a massive milestone.

South Africa has not had players representing the nation in one of the top and competitive football leagues in the world – the Premier League.

Because SA was (still is) ranked very low on the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), Tau could not make an automatic switch directly from Sundowns to Brighton. As a result, he was loaned to Belgian clubs: SG Union (2018/19), Club Brugge (2019/20) and RSC Anderlecht (2020/21) for no less than 2 years.

His competitiveness during his loan spell has won him a place back in EPL, a sure sign of the value of a striker he essentially is. Tau’s contract at Brighton and Hove Albion Extends to 2022.

Imminent debut

From an SA perspective, all eyes are on Brighton manager Graham Potter regarding tomorrow’s – Jan. 10 – fixture against Newport County in the FA Cup.

Will Potter grant Tau his debut on Sunday? Given his sudden recall to rejoin Brighton, he is poised to feature in the upcoming match.

Even so, whatever happens, South Africans will follow the former Sundowns’ forward with untamed interest and hope he makes a huge impact, living up to his enormous talent.