Al Ahly sporting director Mohamed Ramadan has now revealed the condition on which the club will decide to renew Percy Tau's contract.
The South African's deal with the Egyptian giants is set to expire at the end of the current campaign, and if it is not renewed by January next year, the player will be free to negotiate pre-contractual agreements with other foreign clubs.
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This comes after the former Mamelodi Sundowns star was linked with a host of club in the Middle East, Europe, as well as Africa during the off-season.
Reports linking the player with an exit from the Egyptian giants, however, died down after a sparkling start to the new campaign, during which he netted a brace in a CAF Champions League preliminary round encounter against Gor Mahia FC.
Tau, though, has been unable to find the back of the net since that match in September.
With a long way still to go in the season, the Bafana Bafana star is likely to get more opportunities to rediscover his goalscoring prowess and convince Ahly to keep him in Cairo beyond this season, although his manager Marcel Koller will have a big say in the matter, according to their sporting director.
"Percy Tau's contract renewal is pending, but it depends on coach [Marcel] Koller's vision. We'll make the best decision for the player in co-ordination with the coach," Ramadan explained, per Al Ahram.
Reports had previously suggested that the Swiss tactician had agreed to put the 30-year-old up for sale in order to make room in the side for another foreign player, which is believed to have damaged the relationship between the pair.
Despite this, the South African has made five appearances across all competitions so far this season, although he stayed on the bench for his side's 3-0 victory over United Arab Emirates outfit Al Ain in a second round FIFA Club World Cup encounter on Tuesday – a performance that the sporting director was proud of.
"Al Ahly players performed well against Al Ain (UAE) and Zamalek," Ramadan added.
"They communicate well and handle events positively in training camps.
"Thankfully, we've succeeded in recent matches, but it's due to the players' hard work.
"I hope they maintain this strong performance regardless of the opponent."
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