Bongani Khumalo has joined the battling brigade of much-vaunted Bafana Bafana players who are struggling to make their mark in the competitive English soccer leagues.
Signed by Tottenham Hotspur a year ago, Spurs loaned the Bafana central defender to Reading at the start of the current season – only for Khumalo to struggle to make his mark in England's first division after a promising start.
Hampered by a recurring injury, Khumalo is fit again, but now unable to command a place in the Reading line-up.
He joins current Bafana captain Steven Pienaar and former national captain Aaron Mokoena, who are also suffering from a New Year hangover while out of favour at Spurs and Portsmouth respectively.
Pienaar has not made a single start for title-chasing Tottenham in the English Premiership this season and earlier in the week made it known to the club's administration that he was not happy with his frustrating period of ongoing inactivity.
But with a spate of talented midfielders in front of Pienaar in the queue for first-team positions, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said he could not guarantee him a place and, if he so wished, the diminutive South African captain was free to join another club if a suitable transfer offer was made.
Redknapp, however, told The Londoner newspaper on Friday that Pienaar had been left off the Spurs' substitutes bench for the team's Premier League game against West Bromwich Albion earlier in the week – a valuable 1-0 victory – because of illness.
“Steven was suffering from a virus illness and was not fit to play,” said the Spurs manager.
“Otherwise he would have been selected as one of the seven substitutes on the bench.”
Redknapp also refuted claims that Spurs would demand a £5 million (R60 million) transfer fee for Pienaar, stressing that “any reasonable offer will be considered”.
Despite rumours, however, that Sunderland, Aston Villa and his former club, Everton, were interested in acquiring the services of Pienaar, Redknapp revealed that Spurs had up to that point not received any offers.
Even more in the doldrums than Pienaar is former Bafana World Cup captain Mokoena, who is out of favour at Portsmouth and has not made a first-team appearance for the relegation-threatened first division club for some time.
Meanwhile, Khumalo's agent, Glyn Binkin, is currently in England attempting to sort out a new deal for the former SuperSport United central defender.
And with Spurs clearly not interested in Khumalo returning to the North London club at this stage, a loan to another English outfit – or even a return to South Africa – are the most realistic options that face Binkin before the closure of the transfer window at the end of the month. – Sapa