Brentford are on the verge of signing Eredivise South African international defensive midfielder Kamohelo Mokotjo according to our Dutch sources. The 26 year old defensive midfielder is currently in the UK and is very close to finalising a deal.
Mokotjo has been highly regarded in the Eridivise – signing for FC Twente from PEC Zwolle who fended off interest from PSV and Ajax amongst other clubs at the time. He started his Dutch football career at Feyenoord but – to the dismay of the Feyenoord fans who rated him according to reports – boss Ronald Koeman did not see his potential seeing him play only 35 games over 4 years.
He is one of the best passers in the Dutch League and last season he made more passes (1648) than any other midfielder in the Eridivise (below are Stats for 2015/16 season from Stats Bomb). His key strength is passing but he keeps the ball well, tackles and intercepts play .
When he signed by FC Twente, he was regarded as one of the best players in the Eridivise by the well respected Total Dutch Football blog.
This is not the first time Brentford have been linked with Mokhotjo. The Bees were linked with the player as far back as summer 2015 and Beesotted were tracking him in the run-in to that window– then rated at €1.5m. That was the summer we were also linked with players such as Andreas Bjelland (who Mokhotjo was team-mates with at FC Twente) , Josh McEachran and Lasse Vibe. At the time FC Twente was cash-strapped (they still are) and needed to offload players in order to balance the books.
He was touted to be Dutch manager Marinus Djikhuizen’s first signing for the club. However, the fact is Bees had been tracking him for a while before that summer and he was on the radar of Southampton in the previous window.
However Mokhotjo – who had a South African passport at the time – required a work permit to sign for Brentford as he was not an EU national and had not played enough games for the South African National side.
Since then, Mokhojo has become naturalised in Holland and after a period where he renounced his South African passport, he now holds dual citizenship – qualifying him to once again play for the South African national team Bafana Bafana of which he has 6 caps.
When signing for FC Twente, Martin Hilhorst of Total Dutch Football wrote:
“Kamohelo is a great midfielder who is a great addition when in possession, or when you are chasing the ball. With his technique and ball control he would not be a stranger in the way FC Twente plays. After this season many (international) clubs will realise what an enormous mistake they have made not to buy him”.
Analyst Ted Knutson is another person who is a big fan of Mokjoto.
“Kamohelo Mokotjo, Twente. I love midfielders who do everything. This guy is quietly very very good”.
Mokhotjo had one final year on his contract hence the reason why FC Twente have no doubt taken the opportunity to cash in on one of their best players.
In addition, with Twente being banned from European competition for three seasons from 2015 and fined €45,250 after being found guilty of contravening conditions of their operating licence involving investors ploughing money into the club in return for transfer rights of seven players, Mokotjo no doubt feels this is the time for him to be looking at pastures new.
Will Mokhoto sign this final paperwork? It’s looking likely … but a deal is never done until it’s done.
Keep tuned to Beesotted for more news
Billy Grant
@BillyTheBee99
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Anyone you going to Switzerland next week? My son and I are going to Geneva Friday to Sunday. Would meet up with other Bees if anyone going.
Great read & info Billy& co
Very promising indeed ! With a passing stat like that, just think of the partnership he can forge with the likes of jota,vibe,and canos. And if his nick name is anything to go by (THE GENERAL) then it looks like we have a player on our hands. It does make me wonder why other clubs have not thrown their hat in to the ring sooner? And for what sounds like a very good price for a international player, lets just hope its just another canny piece of business from the bees. All that’s left is a striker to help out vibe and I think the squad is looking in very good shape. Keep the good work up billy! UP THE MIGHTY BEES.
Good player, Saw him twice for Twente last season against PSV and AZ, home and away. Quietly gets on with it at the base of the midfield and is very effective. Like a lot of players in that position, their work can go a bit unnoticed and unappreciated, but when they are not there through injury etc you suddenly miss them.