Sundowns coach will not comment on Percy Tau’s progress at Al Ahly

Johannesburg — Rhulani Mokwena doesn’t want to say too much about Percy Tau's progress as he respects his club Al Ahly and is biased when it comes to the forward.

Mokwena and Tau formed a formidable relationship during their stint at Sundowns, as the former played a huge role in Tau’s growth as a footballer and person.

While Mokwena has since ascended to the club’s head coach position, Tau has also soared in his own right, including moving to England to join Brighton & Hove Albion.

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Tau spent most of his stint at Brighton out on loan in Belgium due to work-permit related issues, before finally representing the club in 2021.

However, his stay with the Seagulls was short lived as Tau was eventually sold to Egyptian giants Al Ahly where he has had ups and downs.

A hard day, but a good day! 😅 Preparations are underway as we get closer to the 2nd leg of the #TotalEnergiesCAFCL #Sundowns pic.twitter.com/3fFsm5srIp

— Mamelodi Sundowns FC (@Masandawana) March 9, 2023

Since the arrival of coach Marcel Koller and being injury free, Tau has been enjoying his football again at the club as he is key in their bid to win the Champions League.

Al Ahly were drawn against Sundowns in the group stage, with the two teams playing to a 2-2 draw in the first match in Cairo.

And with the second match scheduled for Saturday at Loftus, it will mark Tau’s first homecoming since Mokwena became head coach. Al Ahly lost 1-0 in their last visit to Pretoria with Tau in the team.

“Percy is playing in completely different (positions). In the last three (games, he played) in completely different positions compared to the last game against us in Cairo,” Mokwena said.

“In Cairo, he played in three different positions in 90 minutes against us. But he's a very good player and one of our best exports.

“But I don’t want to speak much about him because, firstly, he’s not a Mamelodi Sundowns player. So I have a lot of respect for how I speak about players that are not mine.

“And, of course, maybe I am a little bit biased in my opinion about Percy. So I don’t want to say too much and I’ll leave it at that.”

@Mihlalibaleka