Orlando Pirates have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Belgium's Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (RUSG) for the transfer of attacking midfielder Relebohile Mofokeng, pending a medical and agreement on personal terms.
Mofokeng generally impressed at the World Cup for South Africa, but was used sparingly by head coach Hugo Broos. The Belgian mentor expressed contentment at seeing one of his Bafana Bafana stars going to his home country, but said that he would need to physically strengthen in order to reach his potential.
"I think it's a good thing for him, and he will progress, but we mustn't expect that he will play from the first day," Broos told SABC Sport.
"I think he will progress, but Rele must be stronger, it's a very tough competition in Belgium, and in the first five to six months they will work a lot on his physical strength.
"He's a talented player, and once you have the power you need for such a competition, there will be no problem at all."
Orlando Pirates ultimately revealed by implication that his limited game time at the World Cup did not cost him anything in terms of his immediate future, as an agreement with RUSG had already been reached in principle.
"Orlando Pirates Football Club can confirm that it has reached an agreement with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise for the transfer of Relebohile Mofokeng," the club's statement on Wednesday said.
"While the two clubs have concluded negotiations over the transfer fee and structure of the deal, Orlando Pirates can confirm that the move remains subject to Mofokeng passing a medical examination and finalising personal terms with the Belgian Pro League side.
"The Club can also reveal that an agreement in principle between Orlando Pirates and Union Saint-Gilloise was in fact reached before the start of the FIFA World Cup. Both parties made the joint decision to hold off on any public announcement until after the tournament, wanting Mofokeng to focus fully on the World Cup with Bafana Bafana without the distraction of transfer talk, and to allow the national team's historic run to take centre stage.
"No further comment will be made at this time until the process between the player and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise has been fully concluded."