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The 27-year-old did not make the matchday squad and his coach as explained why he missed the trip to Turf Moor
Brighton & Hove Albion manager Graham Potter has come out to explain why Percy Tau did not make the matchday squad for their Premier League opener against Burnley on Saturday.
The South African international was left out as Brighton came from a goal down to beat Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor.
The home team took a deserved lead courtesy of James Tarkowski in the second minute but an improved second half saw Brighton score two goals in the space of five minutes courtesy of Neal Maupay in the 73rd minute and Alexis Mac Allister in the 78th minute, to carry home maximum points.
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The absence of Tau, who has been heavily linked with a transfer to Egyptian giants Al Ahly, dominated the press conference after the game with Potter stating he had missed the game because of “personal reasons.”
What did Potter say?
Explaining why Tau, Aaron Connolly, and Joel Veltman had missed the game, Potter said as quoted by Sussex Live: “Joel [Veltman] was in close contact [with someone who had Covid-19], so he missed the game and the other two are just personal reasons.”
His statement contradicts the one he made ahead of the game, where he stated despite receiving interest from overseas for the services of Tau, 27-year-old was in contention to face Burnley.
“Percy has been training with us this morning; there has been interest from overseas but nothing new to report,” Potter said.
“He is available for the game on Saturday.”
Mosimane cannot hide Tau interest
In a recent interview, Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane did not hide his interest in the player likening him to Lionel Messi, and further stating the Bafana Bafana star deserves a move to the Cairo giants.
“Percy is a strong man, he is like Messi. He has so much to show you every week. So let’s give him a chance to show,” said Mosimane.
“So yes I would like to sign Percy if Brighton agrees to sell Percy and we can pay him. Firstly we must pay Percy. If we can pay him, he must come and show that he is the king of the jungle. So let him come.
“If Al Ahly can be the third-biggest team in the world and beat the South Americans [Palmeiras] that represents the whole of South America, then Al Ahly is a good team.
“Percy is 27 now. You want him to retire without playing football? Then we have the tag of him playing in the EPL. He is not playing in the EPL. They keep loaning him out. They have a pre-season now and they are playing friendly games.”
Tau will hope to make the squad when Brighton return to action with a home game against Watford on Saturday.
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