Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos is convinced Orlando Pirates star Relebohile Mofokeng can still make a huge impact at the international level.
The 20-year-old has been directly involved in 20 Bucs goals having managed eight goals and 12 assists in the 35 matches across all competitions. However, his form has recently not been good. The versatile attacker is struggling to have an impact in the final third which is a concern to some fans.
However, coach Broos still included him in his team to host Lesotho on Friday, March 21, before playing Benin away in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. He then explained why the Bucs hotshot might be struggling.
‘I can't drop Mofokeng'
“There’s so much [noise] around Rele at the moment, teams who are interested and certainly there’s already speaking about this [money], also the pressure on him, eight months ago nobody knew Mofokeng and then suddenly he explodes with Pirates,” Broos said about his recent dip in form,” he told the media.
“He’s become a very good player and everyone has expected, I don’t know what from him but he’s only 20, he’s only playing one full year in a team like Pirates, so you see now he’s getting a little dip, the level a bit less.
“I can’t drop him now that his level is a bit less, I will always support him, but he has to get over this, it’s up to him. He plays in a team now, who at a certain moment could have been champions, so they expect more from him than six, seven months ago.”
Mofokeng's future disturbing him?
Mofokeng has been heavily linked with a move to Europe with some top teams being linked to his services. Broos concedes that might be troubling the Pirates Academy Graduate.
“This is normal evolution of a young player who suddenly gets to a high level and people start to expect a lot of him, with a lot of interest… it affects you. You can’t say okay it’s my agent to do that – somewhere in your head it becomes busy.
“Where am I going to play next year? Will I leave Pirates? Which team am I going to play for? So yeah; it’s totally normal that now Rele is not achieving the level he had a few months ago. But from my side he will always be supported because he’s a very good player. And I knew it would happen,” Broos concluded.
