Will Percy Tau Play for Brighton & Hove Albion this Season?
Once again this summer, the English Premier League saw a huge influx of star talent on multi-million deals. The likes of Fred, Naby Keita, Fabinho, Alisson, Jorginho, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Mateo Kovacic, and Yerry Mina all came into the league to join to clubs before the August 9th transfer deadline, and yet the most eye-catching move wasn’t any of these players.
Of all the millions spent on new players, it was the £2.88 million paid to Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa’s ABSA Premiership which really caught the eye. Following a lengthy process, Percy Tau finally joined Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer.
It’s not often that the Premier League buys straight out of South Africa, or the continent of Africa for that matter – mostly due to work permit restrictions that nations like Portugal and France have a more relaxed attitude towards – so the transfer of Percy Tau really caught the eye. Fans of South African football took to Twitter to praise the striker, seeing the move as well-deserved following some strong seasons in the Premiership. Despite losing one of his most talented players, coach Pitso Mosimane has also given his blessing to Tau’s move to Europe.
But, the big question on everyone’s mind is: when will Percy Tau play in the Premier League?
A team in need of goals
Brighton & Hove Albion isn’t the biggest club in the Premier League, having only achieved promotion in 2017, and certainly doesn’t have a budget to weigh in with the teams that usually achieve a top-half finish. But, with shrewd signings and tough-to-beat tactics, Brighton survived to fight on in 2018/19.
Last season ended with the Gulls in 15th, seven points ahead of the 18th-placed and relegated Swansea City. However, Brighton only managed to score 34 goals to their 54 conceded. The timing of their goals became the most important factor, as opposed to the volume.
This season, Brighton’s looking to survive once again, and have reinforced to do so. When they signed Tau with his speed, skill, and eye for goal, according to Goal, it looked as though the English club had found their new source of goals – after all, he did score 13 goals with 17 assists in 38 games last season. But, the Gulls signed other goal threats alongside the 24-year-old South African.
Brighton brought in Alireza Jahanbakhsh for £17.1 million from AZ Alkmaar and Florin Andone for £5.4 million from Deportivo La Coruna. They were rather fruitful in the transfer window, which has led to many believing that they can stave off relegation once more. They’re at 9/2 to get into the top ten but 9/4 to get relegated with betting site Betway. While they are favoured to go down, there’s still a chance that they can score more goals and creep up the table – but will Tau be a part of the strike force?
Intent not followed up yet
As reported by the BBC, Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton signed Percy Tau with the initial intent to loan him out for the season. Hughton claimed that while there is no doubting the striker’s talent and his potential future at the club, he does need to get experience playing European football.
At the beginning of August, it was reported by Soccer Laduma that Tau had been flown out to Belgium to have a look at the training facilities of Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, of the Belgian First Division B. However, without an update since – at the time of writing – it is still unknown if Tau will be making a season-long loan switch to the Belgian outfit. It is still a possibility as, despite the English transfer window closing, players from the Premier League can still be loaned or transferred out.
However, Brighton didn’t endure a grand start to the season. Away to Watford, the Gulls lost 2-0 to the Hornets and could only muster one shot on target to their opposition’s five. With six of their seven total shots off target, it’s clear that Brighton do have some creative players, but perhaps lack a natural and clinical goalscorer – which Percy Tau is.
The need for goals this season is unlikely to persuade Chris Hughton to keep Percy Tau in England this season. A season on loan in Europe would do him a world of good as it’d help the South African to adjust to the different demands. But, that does not say that Brighton and South African football fans wouldn’t rejoice if he did get a start in the Premier League this season.
