Rantie will hopefully impress in Africa Cup of Nations

The Africa Cup of Nations begins on 17 January 2015. The game that will give AFCB reasons more than most to tune in comes on 19 January when Algeria take on South Africa in a group C match. With a bit of luck this fixture should see the appearance if Tokelo Rantie for Bafana Bafana. The teams are arranged in four groups for the finals with four teams in groups A-D.

Tokelo Rantie appeared in the warm up at Millwall in
December before he left for the Africa Cup of Nations.

South Africa also have Senegal and Ghana in their group and while Ghana and Algeria may be the favourites to qualify for the next stage TK will be aiming to do everything he can to get South Africa to the latter stages of the competition. TK has not played that much football of late because of his dislocated shoulder in the match against Ipswich at Dean Court, but I venture that some fans will be checking out if he can become the top scorer in the event or at least South Africa's top marksmen.

In their last warm up fixture South Africa got a draw with Cameroon and Rantie played for the 90 minutes but did not get a goal. Let's hope he is saving his best for the competition. It would be amazing if he could become the player of the tournament and return to the Cherries in high goal scoring form. 

Rantie can really become a big star if he performs well in Equatorial Guinea. 

Has Rantie something to prove?

Tokelo Rantie wears the No9 shirt and he has been the club's record signing. That sum paid for him is thought to have been surpassed by Callum Wilson's arrival, but the South African is still looking to find away to become a more permanent entry on the team sheet at AFCB. Everyone wants Tokelo to be a success, but is his time best served by scoring goals in the Development squad and by playing international matches?

Has Rantie more to offer?

I like Tokelo as I can see he is a trier. More than that he loves the fans and is very open in acknowledging that he has been given a fantastic opportunity to improve as a player at the Cherries. However, I do wonder if his time could become more difficult in future months if he does not get to play more games. So far Tokelo has made six appearances for the club this season and four of those as a substitute. He did start in the first two rounds of the Capital One Cup, but has not made a 90 minute appearance. TK has also had an injury and came back well against Peterborough in a Development match, scoring four the other week, but I'd prefer to see him knocking on the door of the first team.

While Tokelo has been in the UK for more than a year now he has yet to make the impact that many of us hoped for. Eddie Howe has not looked to let him go elsewhere to learn his trade, perhaps as he feels his game will improve faster at Bournemouth. Yet, with a lack of game time there has to come a point when a loan move might be considered and the next window could be that opportunity, especially if it involved a loan player coming the other way in return. Tom Pope is the footballer in league One that is on many manager's lips, but the Port Vale striker is not going to be easy to dislodge. Eoin Doyle is another striker at Chesterfield who has been among the goals.

For South Africa there must also be some concern that TK is not getting much football, although he seems to be doing well in that environment, scoring in their recent 2-0 win against Congo in the African Cup of Nations. Incidentally, TK could be at the finals of that competition this coming January, which would keep him out of AFCB's squad for a while and would probably delay any potential loan move.

Has TK a more devastating side in front of goal?

But does keeping TK at AFCB as a sub, getting five minutes here and there really benefit him? The personal hardships that he has had settling down may mean that he is comfortable staying at Bournemouth and Eddie Howe is hoping that he has a breakthrough this season. It is a season when he supposedly has less pressure on TK, but I suspect that Tokelo feels pressure to perform just to keep his place in the Bafana Bafana team, and if he can get a run in the Cherries' side he could still turn things really around for himself. 

It's all about taking his chance and for TK perhaps believing that he is that No9 striker that AFCB have always wanted. With Yann Kermorgant out for a few games and a busy time ahead with the Capital One game against WBA, is it time that Rantie can show us what he really can do?

What's your opinion on TK? You can comment below.

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