South Africa manager Hugo Broos has been quite clear to Rangers target Relebohile Mofokeng.
The latest Bafana Bafana wonderkid has been the toast of the Rainbow nation after breaking through at Orlando Pirates this season.
With Relebohile Mofokeng scoring the winning goal in the Nedbank Cup Final, it’s only accelerated the hype around South Africa’s newest star.
As a result of the 19-year-old’s form, heads are reportedly turning in Europe with Rangers the side most recently said to be leading the Mofokeng pack.
It’s something which makes Belgian boss Broos uneasy, with the South Africa manager urging the kid to hold off on a switch to Europe for one more season.
But after meeting up with the youngster with the national squad, it’s fair to say Broos was pleasantly surprised.
Mofokeng hailed by Broos
With showdown talks planned between the pair during the current international break, Hugo Broos had warned Relebohile Mofokeng about the challenges of moving abroad.
Things are going well in South Africa and the Bafana Bafana coach cited the example of fellow young talent Cassius Mailula.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns star has struggled to break into the Toronto FC team due to competition from the likes of Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne.
But after Orlando Pirates boss Jose Riveiro put the ball firmly in Mofokeng’s court, Broos has also been out hailing the kid this week.
Urging Mofokeng to keep his feet on the ground, it’s clear the kid has a big admirer in the Belgian.
“He’s a very humble guy, I was very happy to see him yesterday and he had respect for every player [in the squad],” said Broos as quoted by the Idiski Times.
“You see this guy knows he’s young and he needs to have respect for all those players who showed ten times more than him, being seven or eight years in the league. [Iqraam] scored 14 goals [for example] and Mofokeng was fantastic but he knows there’s a still a long way to go.
“I see his attitude and I’m very happy about that. You know when you receive so much publicity as he did this season, and then certainly with a winning goal like [the Nedbank Cup final], he’s a nice guy! And I’m very happy he’s like that.
“I hope he stays like that, stays in his head like he is now, the quality is there, nobody has to discuss that, but being humble like he is now, beyond this publicity around and talks about him going to Europe, he’s still the same Mofokeng of 10 months ago and I’m very happy about that.”
Rangers transfer wait
The Ibrox support have been following the situation with Relebohile Mofokeng closely but as things stand, there has been no major breakthrough.
Broos might well want the kid to stay in South Africa but with the lure of additional finances and prestige outside of the country, Mofokeng could soon get an offer that he can’t refuse.
It is all well and good for Hugo Broos to urge the kid to stay in Soweto but you try turning down big money when you have a family and future to think about.
Anything can happen in football and in a year’s time Mofokeng could be laid up with an injury wishing he’d taken the leap.
At the same time, it’s easy for players in Mofokeng’s situation to be taken advantage of but it sounds like he has good people in his corner with Broos and Riveiro.
Rangers are stepping up their transfer hunt this summer but it remains to be seen just how far down the line, if at all, a move for Mofokeng might be.
