Former Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane has discussed why European clubs favor signing Nigerian players over South Africans, as reported by Sportblog247.com.

Mosimane, a highly successful coach in Africa, addressed the issue following a challenging season for Burnley’s Lyle Foster. The 23-year-old South African forward made only 26 appearances in the Premier League. Historically, South African players, such as those in the victorious 1996 Africa Cup of Nations squad, had a significant impact in England.

Recently, however, top South African players like Percy Tau have not matched those achievements, leading to hesitation among European clubs to sign players from the region. In contrast, Nigerian players are excelling in Europe, with many Super Eagles players in top European leagues. Stars like Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface are performing exceptionally well.

In a recent interview, Mosimane highlighted the need for South African players to meet the specific demands of European clubs. He mentioned John Barnes’s observation that while South Africa has talented players, they often lack the type needed for the English Premier League. West African players, however, meet those requirements.

“Look, it is a concern for me, and I was banking on Lyle Foster, and now look what happened (Burnley has been relegated to the Championship). I was banking on Percy in the Premier League, the same way (Steven) Pienaar, Benni McCarthy, and Shaun Bartlett represented us, but we don’t have anybody now and it’s not nice,” Mosimane said as per The Citizen.

“We need to have the right product and the right players. Did you hear what John Barnes said about South African players? He said that we have players, but we don’t easily have the right type of player for the English Premier League, but West Africa has that type of player for the Premier League.”

Mosimane pointed out that Nigerian players match the market demands, which is why they succeed at clubs like AC Milan and Napoli.