Relebohile Mofokeng: Middle East club makes ‘improved bid’ for Pirates star

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Orlando Pirates youngster Relebohile Mofokeng is reportedly still on the radar of Saudi Arabia Pro League club Al-Ettifaq, who are keen to reunite him with ex-team-mate Mohau Nkota.

Ettifaq completed the signing of Nkota this month for an undisclosed fee believed to have been in the region of €1.2 million (R24.8 million) and handed him a three-year contract and have been trying to lure Mofokeng as well.

Latest reports from Saudi Arabia claim the club have now come with an improved bid of €1.5 million (R31 million) for Mofokeng which they hope will convince Pirates to sell the highly-rated forward.

Relebohile Mofokeng Orlando Pirates
Image – Pirates

What has been said of Ettifaq’s links to Rele?

“Al-Ettifaq Club officials are close to finalising a deal for Relebohele Mofokeng, a player for South African club Orlando Pirates, to bolster the team's ranks during the current summer transfer window, at the request of coach Saad Al-Shehri,” Transfermarkt quoted Saudi outlet Al-Yaum.

It remains to be seen if indeed the latest reports are true as Mofokeng continues to court the attention of clubs abroad.

So far, the 20-year-old has been linked with the Saudi side, an MLS and an Israeli club, while Pirates were forced to come out and deny claims that they had received a bid of over R100 million from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven for his signature early this month.

Mofokeng has become a hot property since breaking into the senior team nearly two years ago and enhanced his reputation further last season when he was the club’s top scorer with 12 goals and 15 assists in all competitions as they challenged for the league, won MTN8 and reached the CAF Champions League semi-final as well as the Nedbank Cup final. 

<!-- Author Start -->Joel Oliver<!-- Author End -->

Joel Oliver

Author

Joel Oliver is a seasoned multimedia sports journalist with a rich background in covering diverse football stories and events in South Africa and beyond.
His extensive coverage spans subjects touching on the PSL, with a focus on the Big Three (Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs & Mamelodi Sundowns), Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana.