Al Ahly's arrival for their CAF Champions League match against Orlando Pirates will come with attention on Percy Tau.
Tau is back home this weekend and will do so with the memories of having won in his last club visit to Orlando Stadium in January 2017, while he also scored in his last match against Pirates, played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
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However, the centre of attraction is on the fact the the Witbank-born attacker is out of contract with the Egyptian giants at the end of June and this has created widespread interest around what move he makes next.
Word from Egypt is that what has become evident is that he will not get an extension at Ahly.
The 30-year-old is into his fourth year with the Cairo-based club and has had to deal with all that comes with being at this club where his silverware has piled up to double numbers since his arrival in August 2021.
Tau has been a target for criticism – at times unjustified – for all his time with the Egyptian champions, where he initially played under Pitso Mosimane for the first year and now has Marcel Koller as his boss.
It has been argued that it is normal to be under such severe scrutiny as a foreign player at Ahly.
What the former Mamelodi Sundowns forward earns has also meant his critics have their knives sharpened.
At what has been widely listed as earnings of USD1,2 million (approx. R21,7 million) per annum, it has placed him amongst the best earners on the continent.
There has been talk of the fact that he is demanding half his yearly earnings to leave in January, while the club is only offering half of that.
Al Ahly are said to be keen for him to leave now in January as they want to bring two new foreign players.
Where Tau then goes next will be of interest and while Kaizer Chiefs and Zamalek have both been mentioned, affordability will be an issue.
It is likely the Gulf Region will be the next destination once his departure from Ahly is cleared.
Tau has scored only twice this season in 10 appearances with those goals coming in the only match that he has played from start to finish.
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The sequence of events at Ahly have also affected his international career, leaving him with just a single appearance in the last 10 games for Bafana Bafana.
In the just-ended successful AFCON qualifying campaign, there was no contribution from Tau with Bafana coach Hugo Broos having had to provide several answers on the exclusion of the experienced forward.