Rangers fans might be wondering how those links to Relebohile Mofokeng are progressing.
Back at the beginning of the summer transfer window, Rangers were said to be leading the Mofokeng hunt as the South African burst onto the scene in his home country.
But fast forward a month later, and the last time we heard about the 19-year-old was when Mofokeng stole the show in a friendly with Sevilla.
There’s scarcely been a murmur surrounding Relebohile Mofokeng since and now one of the Orlando Pirates star’s teammates has talking about the midfielder-turned-winger.
And whilst you might expect ‘Orlando Pirates utility man’ Deon Hotto to cling to the teenage Bafana Bafana sensation in South Africa, his latest comments suggest the opposite.
Mofokeng ‘ready’ to leave South Africa
Rangers-linked Relebohile Mofokeng is really the latest name to be hyped in South African football.
The top talents from the Rainbow Nation are routinely linked to the footballing promised land of Europe from the moment they begin making waves on the South African cape.
Everyone is the next Steven Pienaar.
It’s led to South African manager Hugo Broos warning Mofokeng off a move to the continent before it’s his time.
But any suggestion of Mofokeng needing another year in South Africa has just been refuted by Namibia international Deon Hotto, who reckons the teenager’s pre-season showings prove he’s ready for a switch to Europe.
“Ja, for sure he is. Why is he not ready? He is,” Hotto said when asked if he thinks Mofokeng is ready to leave South Africa, as quoted by the Times.
“Even when he was in Spain now you could see how he was competing against Sevilla, against Granada, against big teams, big names.
“He was playing like he does here in the PSL. So for me, I think he’s ready, to be honest.”
Later Hotto spoke about helping the Mofokeng stay grounded amid the hype: “That’s where we as senior players also come in, to keep the boy grounded, keep his head in the game.
“His head must be on the prize so we’re trying to keep him just to continue where he left off and to put in more effort, especially in the final third. There are times where we need him just to put the ball in the net and he takes another touch.
“That’s where we come in just to guide him to say, ‘The first moment you get, try to finish it’ – just like he did in the final where it was just one, two [touches] and then finish.”
The comments come after Relebohile Mofokeng assisted the opening goal in Orlando Pirates 2-1 win over Sevilla earlier in the month.
Rangers links go cold
The Rangers links to Relebohile Mofokeng certainly appeared to fit the Ibrox side’s early-season recruitment model.
The Gers moved quickly for a number of young names with high potential as Nils Koppen tries to revamp Gers’s stuttering attempts at player trading.
South African kid Mofokeng represents a player with talent from an emerging market, similarly to the likes of Hamza Igamane, who was signed from Moroccan side FAR Rabat.
But with Rangers moving into phase two of the transfer window and now looking to recruit experience, perhaps the time to sign Relebohile Mofokeng has been and gone.
For the time being, Mofokeng remains at Orlando Pirates and it remains to be seen if that will change heading into the new season.
