Khumalo nears end at Reading
Reading manager Brian McDermott has confirmed that the club will end the loan spell of Bongani Khumalo this month if they bring in transfer target Karleigh Osborne from Brentford.
Khumalo has had a miserable time at the English Championship side and has not played since August, with McDermott making it clear that the Bafana Bafana international was not in his plans.
The former SuperSport United star might be left with just a matter of days to find regular first-team football if the deal does go through.
Although the transfer window slams shut on January 31, teams from outside the English Premiership can loan players from that division if they sign them between February 8 and March 24.
Khumalo might have thought that Reading’s decision to loan defender Seam Morrison to Huddersfield might open up an opportunity for him, but McDermott is eager to look elsewhere.
"Morrison has gone on loan to Huddersfield so there's a possibility we might bring Karleigh Osborne to cover,” McDermott told the Reading Chronicle. "It's a not a loan, we would just take him. Bongani will go back to Spurs and we have to cover the Sean Morrison situation until the end of the season."
It is a nightmare scenario for both the player and Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane, who has used Khumalo sparingly while he has not been playing at club level, but would be eager to have him match fit and firing with the 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifiers starting in June.