Premier League-bound Burnley are apparently one of the teams that may be growing increasingly interested in the performances of Percy Tau.
So far, Percy Tau has enjoyed a wonderful start to the year, returning to top fitness and form for Al Ahly and re-establishing himself as one of the leading players for the Egyptian powerhouse.
He has received high praise from Bafana coach Hugo Broos, who hasn’t hesitated in recalling him to the national team, signalling another remarkable turnaround after he was regularly overlooked last year due to injury troubles.
It was also Tau’s battle with injuries that saw him consistently linked with an exit from Al Ahly last year, but in the end he has remained with the club, while his contract with the Red Devils only comes to an end next year.
TAU IS A SOUGHT-AFTER MAN ONCE AGAIN
Interestingly, according to KickOff, runaway English Championship leaders Burnley are one of the team who may be keeping a close eye on Tau’s continued progress, with coach Vincent Kompany certainly no stranger to the South African.
“Kompany knows his qualities,” a source commented. “At the moment Percy is a key player for Al Ahly, though, and they want to keep him.”
Numerous reports and rumours have suggested Sundowns may be interested in the 28-year-old, and so it will certainly be interesting to see what develops over the remainder of the year.
THERE ARE ALREADY SOUTH AFRICAN LINKS AT BURNLEY
Back in January, Burnley formally announced the signing of Bafana Bafana’s Lyle Foster from Belgian side K.V.C. Westerlo for an undisclosed fee.
The 22-year-old striker penned a four-and-a-half-year deal at Turf Moor and became the Clarets’ third signing of the January transfer window.
Burnley are well-placed as they seek Premier League promotion, and reports suggest they secured the services of Foster for €7m upfront (R131 million); a figure that could increase by a further €3m if they gain promotion. It could ultimately all amount to a staggering figure of around R187.7 million for the South African.
This effectively makes him the most expensive South African player, overtaking legendary Bafana striker Benni McCarthy, who is now coaching at Manchester United.
“I’m still pinching myself. I’m just very happy at the moment [and] very grateful for everything that’s happening in my life,” he told reporters on Monday as he joined up with Bafana for matches against Liberia. “I can speak for hours about how grateful I am, but I think I need to shift my focus now to the game on Friday and Tuesday and just very excited to be back home.”
“Being South Africa’s most expensive player, I try not to think about it too much, to be honest. I just want to play football and enjoy it. [I’m] happy to be in the UK and hopefully, I can have a long and fruitful career there and just continue working hard and try my best as possible to go as far as I can.
“I want to create some sort of legacy,” he added. “I want to leave something behind and I think that only works if you work hard and if you are committed. I think that’s what Lucas was over the years and even Benni is spoken very highly about in the UK. Steven Pienaar, Quinton Fortune, Aaron Mokoena, these guys have set the bar for players like us who followed them.”
