African wonderkid destined for 'big club in Europe' after being warned off Rangers transfer
18/02/2025 14:30
Relebohile Mofokeng is one of South African football's brightest talents and one of the most interesting players being linked to Rangers.
The Bafana Bafana wonder kid might only be 20-years-old but already the young midfielder is making waves with the Orlando Pirates and the South Africa national team.
Rangers have been linked to Relebohile Mofokeng since the summer with the Ibrox side amongst the teams most prominently mentioned.
Having spent time on trial at Wolves, the Premier League outfit retain an interest, whilst Spanish giants Barcelona have also been mooted in dispatches.
But just how far can Relebohile Mofokeng go in the game? According to one of the midfielder's former teammates, to the very top.
Relebohile Mofokeng tipped for 'big club in Europe'
You don't have to convince Sekhukhune United midfielder Thabang Monare that Relebohile Mofokeng is a player of huge potential.
The South Africa star has seen just how talented the Rangers target really is up close with the two players playing together at Orlando Pirates.
Monare is convinced that Mofokeng 'is a gift' and reckons the Ibrox-linked midfielder is so good, there must have been some divine inspiration.
"You have no idea," Thabang Monare told the iDiski Times.
"You have no idea but I'd say talent is an understatement – Rele is a gift. As soon as he stepped on the field and I watched him train with us I knew that there is no stopping him.
"He is natural. He is just like that. Whatever he has no one taught him, that's all he knows. He was born like that."
And what about those links to Rangers?
Well, for the time being the Sekhukhune midfielder reckons Relebohile Mofokeng is exactly where he needs to be.
But that doesn't mean that Monare doesn't see 'a big club in Europe' in the young South African wonderkid's future.
"I think he is at the right club, he has the right coach and I think that's why he is getting better every single game," said Monare.
"And now that he is in the national team and he is doing well, you know the next step could be Europe, a big club in Europe. I'm really proud of that man, very proud."
Relebohile Mofokeng warned off Rangers switch
The comments of Thabang Monare come after South African manager Hugo Broos name-dropped Rangers with regards Relebohile Mofokeng.
The Bafana Bafana boss has been apprehensive to endorse Mofokeng moving abroad so young, the midfielder only just breaking through at the Pirates last season, and has already handed Relebohile five caps for the country.
Speaking specifically about interest from Rangers and Barcelona, it's not a position Broos has changed on either with the South Africa boss urging the player to take things slow.
Broos has also warned Mofokeng off a move to Rangers due to the physicality of the Scottish Premiership.
"I just hope he makes the right decisions, and that he is not going to a team where he won't play," said Broos earlier this year.
"I see all the things around him… I am just a little bit afraid (of the talks involving) Barcelona and Rangers.
"I hope the people around him make the best sporting solutions, and not a financial solution.
"So, even though I am not happy with the decision, he should go. But Rangers? What is Rele going to do in the Scottish Premiership!?
"When the ball is in the air … or when you have the ball, they kill you. He'll not play there – even with the talent that he has. That's not his style of play."
