Bafana Bafana legend Teko Modise has added his voice to the debate around Orlando Pirates' rising star Relebohile Mofokeng next move.
Mofokeng has enjoyed a sensational season with Pirates, contributing four goals and seven assists in 37 appearances from all competitions in his second campaign of top-flight football.
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His performances and potential have not gone unnoticed, having reportedly attracted interest from several potential suitors and even having a trial with Wolverhampton in October last year.
Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has warned that it would be too early for Mofokeng to make the switch abroad.
However, Modise insists the sooner the teenager moves, the better. '
The Navigator' cited the likes of Benni McCarthy, who was 18 years old when he left South African shores to join Ajax Amsterdam, in driving his point home.
"There's always the conversation about how he's not ready for Europe, but at what age are you supposed to be ready for Europe? Because at the end of the day, you are going to a team where you are going to be coached and get better," Modise told journalists at the SuperSport EURO launch.
"While you are here in South Africa, you are still being coached and getting better. So, I don't think there's a right time to go to Europe.
"But we should bear in mind that age matters - the sooner you go, the better. Steven Pienaar left young, Benni [McCarthy] left early, 'Mbazo' [Aaron Mokoena] ... there are lots of players that left early and we never said anything about them and they became successful at that level. So, the sooner he goes, the better.
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"But yet again, from Orlando Pirates' perspective, you are losing such a big player.
"So, I'm not the one to say that [if he should stay or go], I'm just saying that these are the types of players we need to be playing in top leagues."
Mofokeng was named in the final 23-man Bafana squad that faced Nigeria and Zimbabwe in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June, making his senior national team debut against Zimbabwe on Tuesday, and has also been named in the 50-man preliminary squad for the upcoming COSAFA Cup.
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