Former South Africa captain Dean Furman believes Percy Tau did not get enough chances to prove his worth for Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 27-year-old striker was signed by the Seagulls Albion in 2018 but was loaned to Belgium where he played for Union SG, Club Brugge, and Anderlecht. He ended up making just three appearances for the English side, in the Premier League and provided an assist.
Al Ahly came calling in 2021 and the Bafana Bafana star did not hesitate to make the move.
"I would have loved Percy to be given more opportunities; I was excited to watch him in the Champions League and the Premier League where he got a few games. It is a tough league to acclimatise," Furman told Football and Friends.
"He needed more time and opportunities that really did not come his way and he made a decision that he felt was right for his career. We can say we wanted to see him stay in Europe turning out for this or that club.
"I can see the obvious link going to Egypt, a former manager, a massive club playing top end of African football. That is not to discredit where he is because [Al Ahly] is a massive, massive football club but I would have loved to see him getting more opportunities at Brighton because I know how special he is... it is a shame it did not work out for him."
Tau has been in and out of the Al Ahly squad owing to injuries but has been effective when on the pitch.
His latest involvement for the reigning Caf Champions League kings was against Sudanese top-tier side Al Merrikh whereby the Red Devils won 3-1.
In the Champions League match played on March 18, Tau scored the first goal after just 19 minutes before the hosts equalised through Ramadan Agab to see the teams go into the break even.
Tau did not return for the second half after getting injured, but it mattered less for the Egyptians who went on to score two more goals courtesy of Mohamed Sherif and Ahmed Radwan.