With Hugo Broos recently bemoaning the lack of young South African goalkeepers, there are three currently plying their trade for Premier League youth sides who could succeed Ronwen Williams.
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When announcing his latest Bafana Bafana squad for the recently concluded FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the veteran tactician lamented the fact that there was a lack of young South Africans starting for clubs in the Betway Premiership.
Of the 16 teams in the first division, no more than a handful of them consistently start South Africans in between the sticks, as foreign shot-stoppers are very prominent in the Premier Soccer League. While the teams in our domestic league continue to utilise exports as first-choice shot-stoppers, Broos may have to look abroad himself to find suitable successors to the Yashin Trophy-nominated Williams.
One league which has a few goalkeepers eligible to don the famous green and gold of South Africa is the Premier League, specifically its reserve division. The first one hails from Manchester United's academy, and his name is Elyh Harrison. The teenager joined the club's youth ranks in 2022 from Stevenage but has quickly risen, now a member of the under-21 side despite being 19 years old.
Earlier this season, he was loaned out to Chester FC in the sixth tier of English football, but earlier this year he returned to the record Premier League champions, where he will be hoping to break through into the first team.
Another young goalkeeper playing for a Premier League outfit is Tottenham Hotspur's Samuel Archer. The 18-year-old signed his first professional contract late last month and captained the under-18 side regularly last year, even breaking through for the under-21s in late 2024, where he is understood to have shone as well.
While it is unlikely that fans of the north London outfit will see him play for the first team anytime soon, he is understood to be on Ange Postecoglou's radar.
The youngest of the English-based trio, however, is Manchester City academy star 17-year-old Spike Brits. The Wimbledon-born shot-stopper signed for the Sky Blues at the start of last season and was immediately playing with the under-18s. His move to the City academy was major news, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano even reporting on where he would end up when he left his hometown club.
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Ultimately, he signed for the Citizens and has risen rapidly through the ranks as he is now part of the under-21 side, which competes in Premier League 2. Having even played for the under-18 England national team, the South African Football Association will need to pounce quickly if they are to convince him to commit his international future to Bafana Bafana.
