Defiant Tokelo Rantie set to incur wrath of Premier League side Bournemouth

The Bafana Bafana forward is desperate to leave The Cherries and return to South Africa‚ and despite the club asking him to report for duty on their pre-season tour of the USA‚ is back home training on his own.

Rantie was not registered by Bournemouth for the second half of the last Premier League season‚ but is still contracted to Eddie Howe’s side and his self-imposed absence is likely to see him incur heavy fines.

The 25-year-old‚ though‚ has set his heart on returning to South Africa‚ despite the fact it would mean a significant reduction in his earnings. He has never made a secret of the fact that he battled to adjust to life in England.

It is not that he doesn't have options abroad. English side Leeds United‚ once home of Bafana legend Lucas Radebe‚ are just one club that have been keen to sign.

Farouk Khan‚ who coached Rantie at the Stars of Africa Academy and remains close to the player‚ tells Times Media Digital the forward has put himself in a tight spot.

“He has made it clear he wants to play and for a number of reasons he has not got that at Bournemouth‚” Khan said.

“He seems to be very much of the opinion that he should come home‚ but I personally think he is good enough to play in Europe.

“Bournemouth have been asking him to come back [for pre-season] and eventually I think he will have to succumb because he is under contract with them and will start incurring heavy fines.

“At the moment he is in South Africa working in the gym‚ but that is not really good enough to stay in peak condition.

“And there are some very decent clubs in Europe who are interested in signing him‚ Leeds United being just one of them.”

Rantie’s stance that he would like to return to the Premier Soccer League‚ where he last played for Orlando Pirates in the 2011/12 season‚ faces a number of challenges.

He might be personally willing to take a massive pay cut to return to South Africa‚ but Bournemouth will be seeking to at least recoup the £2.5-million (approximately R50-million) they paid for him in 2013‚ at the time a club record fee.