Orlando Pirates’ teenage midfielder Relebohile Mofokeng is on trial at
Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers in England, and according to
sources close to Pirates, the 18-year-old has been showing the English top
flight club that he has the qualities they are looking for.
The sources added that Wolves’ technical team has been looking for a young
creative midfielder and the club is happy with what they have seen of the
South African so far. “Pirates have just received communication from
Wolves that Rele (Mofokeng) is doing very well and they want to sign him.
According to the information that I have heard from the office is they
want to sign him for their Under-23 side but while grooming him for the
senior team,” said the source.
Mofokeng left for the United Kingdom after the MTN8 final where he played
in the win over Mamelodi Sundowns in Durban. Historically, the work permit
complication is a reason why many South African youngsters move to other
European leagues such as in Belgium before hoping to move to England when
they have gained the required Bafana Bafana caps.
Mofokeng is yet to play for South Africa’s senior national team and has
been focusing on proving himself in the PSL this season. However, since
June this year there has been a wild card rule in place where Premier
League clubs in England could sign a foreign player in exceptional cases.
This is with regard to players who previously wouldn’t have met the work
permit criteria, such as Mofokeng who doesn’t have a Bafana cap.
From this season, the Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) Criteria in England
is allowing Premier League and Championship teams to be able to sign up to
four such players, while League One and League Two clubs can sign two.
This could potentially allow young South African players to benefit from
new opportunities to develop their game in England.
