No fewer than five overseas-based players have raised their hands for a potential call-up to the Bafana Bafana squad for this month's international friendlies.
The South Africa national football team is set to return to action later this month when Hugo Broos and his Bafana Bafana squad take on Botswana and Sierra Leone in two international friendlies.
One inclusion in the squad has already seemingly been confirmed after Swedish outfit Varbergs BoIS revealed that midfielder Luke Le Roux, formerly of Stellenbosch FC, had been called up for national team duty.
"...Luke has been selected for South Africa's national team squad and the gathering at the end of September where training matches against Botswana and Sierra Leone await," Varbergs said in a statement last week.
Le Roux's proposed inclusion is the reward for three years of consistent performances in Sweden where the 22-year-old has made more than 70 appearances for the club across all competitions.
His spot in the selection would also suggest that South Africa head coach Broos has cast his eyes abroad in choosing his yet-to-be-confirmed squad and that a number of other overseas-based stars might be considered.
Chief among those knocking on the door is former Kaizer Chiefs transfer target Kobamelo Kodisang who has been in blistering form for Moreirense in the Portuguese second division after joining the club from SC Braga at the start of the season.
Kodisang, who represented South Africa at the Olympic Games last year, has scored three times and assisted once in just six appearances so far to help table-topping Moreirense maintain their 100% winning record in the league.
His attacking output makes him an enticing prospect for the national team who have been notoriously goal-shy in recent times, with those woes compounded by the expected absence of star forwards Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Percy Tau through injury.
Another player who could help in this regard is Strasbourg striker Lebo Mothiba who has returned to action for French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg following a long-term injury.
Mothiba has been limited to just two cameo appearances thus far but featured prominently on loan at fellow top-flight side ESTAC Troyes during the second-half of last season after spending nearly two years on the sidelines.
The 26-year-old previously became the first player to score for Bafana Bafana in each of his first three international matches and boasts a return of four goals in 15 appearances, the last cap of which came during the 2019 CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
Elsewhere, Thabo Cele is another player who has been earning rave reviews for his performances in the Polish Ekstraklasa where he has been one of Radomiak Radom's star players.
Cele is already a full international and was another of the players who took part in the Olympics in Japan last year, where he stood out as one of the U23 team's key figures in an otherwise disappointing campaign.
Such has been the nature of his performances this year that Radomiak head coach Mariusz Lewandowski recently admitted that he was resigned to losing the 25-year-old to a "bigger team in Europe" in the near future.
Uncapped winger Mihlali Mayambela could also be in line to earn a call-up after hitting the ground running in Cyprus with his new side Aris Limassol.
The 26-year-old, who has spent the last six years plying his trade across Sweden, Portugal and Israel, was named as the league's MVP for the opening week of the season after scoring on debut earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Broos could also call upon the services of a number of more familiar faces to his squad, including Belenenses midfielder Sphephelo Sithole, UAE-based Thibang Phete or Turan defender Siyanda Xulu.
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