Despite officially being a Brighton & Hove Albion player, Percy Tau’s hopes of playing in the English Premier League could be dashed.

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Tau, who is currently on loan with Anderlecht, has openly expressed his desire to become the 14th South African to feature in the EPL, and there was hope, after the amendments to work permit regulations following Brexit.

The new regulations are determined by several criteria, where football has been given its own points-based system when it comes to granting work permits for the UK.

Governing Body Entry for Non-European Union players, such as Tau, requires 15 points, which are based on current performance level and the club the player is are signing from, to be granted entry.

But, despite the new laws, Tau may still never feature for the Seagulls.

Bafana Bafana’s world ranking is one of the reasons why seeing Tau feature alongside the likes of Mohamed Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in future will remain just a dream for South Africans. 

The South African national team currently sit in 72nd place on the world rankings and would need to be inside the top 50 for Tau to qualify for automatic pass for a work permit to play in the EPL. 

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Despite being heavily involved for Vincent Kompany's side, another factor is Anderlecht finished in eighth place last season and did not qualify for either the UEFA Champions League, or the Europa League this season.

Work permit points are allocated if a player has featured in the group stages of any continental competition, including the Champions League, Europa League or Copa Libertadores de America in the last 12 months as well the amount of minutes played.

Tau’s contract with Brighton expires in June 2022, and it remains to be seen what the future holds for the ‘Lion of Judah’.  

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