Brighton & Hove Albion have confirmed the signing of Percy Tau from Mamelodi Sundowns FC. The South African striker has joined the club on a four-year contract although he is expected to be loaned out for the upcoming Premier League season.
He becomes Brighton’s seventh signing of the summer joining the likes of David Button, Yves Bissouma, Bernardo and Leon Balogun amongst few others.
Even though investing in a relatively unknown African talent might seem a rather bizarre move from Brighton’s perspective, Tau comes with a cunning reputation of being a lethal goalscorer. The 24-year-old, who initially began his career with Sundowns, has scored 18 goals in just 65 matches in the ABSA Premiership, which is the top division of South African football.
After initially joining the club in 2014, Tau has won the South African Premier Soccer League twice as well as securing the CAF Champions League in 2016. He was also the scorer in the South African top flight last season, where he netted 11 goals to help his side secure the title.
Brighton, on the other hand, have struggled with their lack of potency in the offensive department last season. In fact, only Huddersfield Town along with the relegated Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion had scored fewer goals than the Seagulls last term.
As a result of which, head coach Chris Hughton has been keen on bolstering his attacking department this summer, having already secured the services of star forward Florin Andone.
Having said that, the Premier League minnows still lack depth in attack bearing in mind that veteran striker Glenn Murray has already entered the final phase of his career while Israeli marksman Tomer Hemed has failed to make an impact in the English top flight. Therefore, keeping hold of Percy Tau might not actually be a bad idea as far as The Seagulls are concerned.
The South African starlet is advertised as an all-round forward, who, aside from his lethal scoring prowess also boasts a decent amount of creativity. The 24-year old most notably provided as many as 15 assists for Sundowns last season, which reflects his ability to create chances.
A smart operator in the final third, Tau is a very diligent player who is willing to make sacrificial runs in order to create space for his teammates, making him a unique component in the Brighton attack.
However, as iterated earlier, whether or not he will be able to cope with the pressure of playing in the Premier League is still unknown, thus a loan move to some other lower league club could help the South African forward gain some experience in English football.
Stats Courtesy: Wikipedia
