Orlando Pirates forward Thembinkosi Lorch admits it haunts him that he has so far failed to secure a move to an overseas club.
The 26-year-old was drawing interest from Europe after winning the 2018/19 PSL Footballer of the Season award and then going on to impress at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
However, a deal never materialised and Lorch remains disappointed that he couldn’t follow in the footsteps of Percy Tau, who is the same age and currently on the books of Premier League outfit Brighton.
“I think I’ve done my thing in Mzansi. I’ve won the player of the season, I went to AFCON, and even there I played well,” Lorch told KickOff.
“But like I said before, I’m still hurt for not going overseas. The likes of Percy Tau left after becoming player of the season, a lot of players left… so I expected the same thing to happen to me.
“Even now I still feel the pain you know. Ja, I won’t hide it you know that it affected my form big-time, because I saw myself playing overseas this season, and I was prepared to go and play overseas.
“It’s my dream to play overseas, but I still believe my dream will come true. It’s God who knows. I must just not give up. So I wish a right offer comes.”
Asked if he ever approached Pirates management regarding a possible move overseason, Lorch added: “Ja I did that, I talked to them. So they suggested we wait for a right offer. So I don’t know what kind of an offer is a right offer, but it did affect me big-time.
“Even now I still feel this pain in my heart you see, and I don’t think it’s something that is going to end soon.
“For now it still hurts you see, especially when I see the likes of [Marshall] Munetsi playing overseas [for Reims]. It really pains me.”
