Al Ahly are preparing to settle their January transfer priorities, with a meeting between football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz and head coach Hussein Ammouta expected to determine which players the Egyptian champions will pursue during the winter window.
The discussions will focus on strengthening central defence and defensive midfield, while the club’s plans for signing another winger will depend partly on decisions over their foreign-player places.
Ammouta has returned to Cairo after his holiday and resumed responsibility for the team’s preparations ahead of their Egyptian Premier League fixture against Pyramids on 23 November.
The match, which forms part of the ninth round of the league season, comes as the club’s technical staff and football management continue to assess the squad’s requirements for the second half of the campaign.
An Al Ahly source told WinWin that Abdel-Hafiz is expected to receive the coach’s final shortlist of transfer candidates during their forthcoming meeting. The club has already held discussions about several players who could address weaknesses identified by the technical staff.
The meeting is expected to move the recruitment process beyond the initial assessment of possible signings, allowing the club to establish a clear order of preference before making formal approaches.
Defensive midfield and central defence top Al Ahly’s list
Strengthening the holding midfield position is one of the club’s main objectives, with Osama Nour El-Din of Moroccan side Maghreb Fez among the players under consideration.
However, the midfielder is not the only option being assessed. Al Ahly officials are waiting for Ammouta to determine how he ranks the available candidates before deciding which player should become the subject of a formal move.
Central defence is the other major area the Egyptian side want to reinforce in January.
Enppi defender Ahmed Kalousha and Mostafa Ibrahim of Al-Ittihad Alexandria are among the names being considered for the position.
Their chances of joining Al Ahly will depend on the Moroccan coach’s assessment and the order in which he places them on the club’s recruitment list.
The upcoming meeting between Ammouta and Abdel-Hafiz is therefore expected to play an important role in determining the direction of the club’s January business, particularly as Al Ahly look to strengthen two areas of the squad.
Winger signing depends on foreign-player departures
Recruiting another winger remains a possibility, but it is not currently regarded as as urgent as the need to improve the defensive midfield and central defensive positions.
The club’s interest in bringing in a foreign winger is also connected to its plans for the overseas players already in the squad.
Any move in that position would depend on the departure of another foreign professional, in addition to Reda Selim. This means Al Ahly must first resolve the composition of their foreign-player list before progressing with a potential signing.
The situation makes the winger position a separate issue from the club’s more immediate defensive recruitment plans.
For now, the focus remains on the meeting between Abdel-Hafiz and Ammouta, which is expected to establish the final ranking of candidates for central defence and defensive midfield.
Once those priorities have been agreed, Al Ahly can begin taking practical steps towards securing their preferred targets ahead of the January transfer window.
The decisions will also help clarify whether the club will pursue another winger and which foreign player could make way for a new arrival.
