Percy Tau unveiled as a Brighton and Hove Albion player. Photo: @OfficialBHAFC / Twiter
Percy Tau unveiled as a Brighton and Hove Albion player. Photo: @OfficialBHAFC / Twiter
It was a bittersweet day for South African football fans when Percy Tau left the PSL last month, but he’s getting a shot at the highest level with Brighton. Well, eventually he will…
Tau completed his megabucks move to Brighton and Hove Albion on in July, in a deal reported to be worth around R50 million. The 24-year-old has signed with the Seagulls on a four-year deal, but will now spend a year playing for Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in the second tier of Belgian football.
When will Percy Tau play for Brighton?
The now-former Mamelodi Sundowns winger was never going to find it easy to break into the starting XI, but it seems like manager Chris Hughton is willing to play the long game with his new acquisition.
Speaking to Brighton’s club website, Hughton revealed that the plan was to send Tau out on loan so he can gain some valuable experience in the European leagues.
“Percy will go out on loan this season, play regularly and get some experience of European football. We will be watching his progress and monitoring his development over the season.”
Who will Percy Tau be loaned out to?
There was certainly be a number of interested parties – Tau was attracting attention from the top flights of both France and Russia at the start of the year. However, Brighton chose to keep their asset a little closer to home.
Chairman Tony Bloom is also the owner of Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise. They are a second division team he acquired back in April this year.
In the same way the owners of Leicester City use their second-tier side in Belgium, Oud-Heverlee Leuven, Brighton have the luxury of being able to use Union as a “feeder club”.
This allows the south-coast side to pick the best young talent from across the English Channel to join up with their academy and also lets them send their own youngsters abroad to learn more about their game.
Tau is therefore on his way to Brussels this season. Hughton also hinted that any loan would be a season-long one, rather than anything short-term, and that’s exactly what he’s got.
(This article was originally published on 20 July 2018, before his move was confirmed)
