Brighton and South Africa forward, Percy Tau, in action. (imago Images)
According to a report by The Athletic (Subscription Required), Egyptian side Al Ahly have shown an interest in signing Brighton and Hove Albion forward, Percy Tau, during the summer transfer window. The South African international signed for the Seagulls in 2018 from Mamelodi Sundowns in his native country.
But he has had a hard time at Brighton and Hove Albion. He has been loaned out multiple times and frankly, the club has enough strikers in their ranks as of now. With Al Ahly now showing an interest in the Bafana Bafana international, is this the right time for Brighton to accept their mistake and cut their losses on Tau?
Ever since Tau signed for Brighton, he has never looked like a player that would be a regular starter for them. That is because of the fact that he has only ever made three starts for the club, with his debut coming in his 3rd season at the Amex. Most of his time as a Brighton player has been spent on loan in Belgium.
He was sent to Union SG during his first season and Club Brugge in the campaign that followed. Last season, he spent the first half at Anderlecht before joining up with the Brighton squad in January 2021. That is when his Brighton journey started on the field and even then, Potter did not show a lot of faith in him.
Tau only ever started three games with just one of it coming in the league, surprisingly against Manchester City. That clearly indicates that Brighton can do without him to a big extent. On paper, they are not short of strikers, with Danny Welbeck, Aaron Connolly, Neal Maupay, Florin Andone, Andi Zeqiri, and Jurgen Locadia, who has returned from his loan spell in MLS.
Amongst such names, Tau would find it difficult to get a lot of starts. Speaking to KickOff.com (h/t Sussex Live) in March 2021, Bafana Bafana head coach Molefi Ntseki stated that the competition within Brighton’s squad is the reason why Tau is barely getting any minutes. That, he says, can jeopardize Tau’s chances of playing for the national team if he is not careful.
“It’s got nothing to do with Percy’s discipline or commitment, it’s just competition within the team. If competition puts him outside, and he’s not training properly, he’s not part of the team all the time, then it means his performance will obviously be affected [when it comes to being selected for Bafana].”
He is in the last 12 months of his contract at the Amex, and any fee Brighton can get for him would be a bonus if we take into account the possibility of him leaving as a free agent next year. If Tau doesn’t renew his deal, he can open talks with foreign clubs as a free agent in January 2022.
Losing any player on a free transfer is not ideal. And Brighton barely have any space for him in their starting XI, as seen in the last three years. Taking those factors into account, this is one deal that Potter should cash in on. It would free up some space on Brighton’s wage bill and Tau can get some regular football that may help him get his groove back.
