Al-Ahly are considering whether to sign a new central defender during the January transfer window after Amr El-Gazzar was ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn cruciate ligament.
The Egypt international suffered the injury after leaving Al-Ahly’s match against Al-Mokawloon Al-Arab. Club doctor Dr Ahmed Gaballah confirmed in an official statement that medical tests showed the defender had sustained a cruciate ligament tear.
El-Gazzar’s injury has increased attention on Al-Ahly’s plans for the centre-back position, although the club had already been considering strengthening the area before the injury occurred.
An Al-Ahly source told WinWin that recruitment of a central defender had been discussed internally before El-Gazzar’s injury, with the position already identified as one that could require reinforcement.
The source said the club’s decision will depend on three possible routes: signing a foreign defender from outside Egypt, recruiting a player from the Egyptian league, or finding a solution within the current squad.
A major factor in determining whether Al-Ahly pursue an overseas signing will be the situation of Moroccan defender Ashraf Dari.
Dari has returned to the club’s technical plans, and his performances over the coming period are expected to influence the management’s decision. If he establishes himself as a reliable option, the need to bring in another defender could be reduced.
The source said: “Among the names that have previously entered Al-Ahly’s calculations for this position are the trio of Omar Fayed, Mohamed Abdel Moneim and Hossam Abdel Maguid, but each player has a different situation that makes deciding on any early move difficult at the moment.”
Omar Fayed remains under consideration, although there have been disagreements over his technical assessment since the previous summer transfer window.
Mohamed Abdel Moneim’s situation has also changed after he returned to action with French club Nice, while Hossam Abdel Maguid continues to pursue a professional career outside Egypt.
The domestic market provides another possible route for Al-Ahly.
The source said: “As for the Egyptian league, Mahmoud El-Gazzar, the defender of Al-Ahly Bank, is one of the most prominent names that are accepted within Al-Ahly, but the management of the Red Castle does not currently like to enter into new negotiations with Al-Ahly Bank because of what happened during the negotiations for the Amr El-Gazzar deal.”
Relations between the two clubs could therefore prove important. Al-Ahly had previously been strongly interested in Al-Ahly Bank striker Osama Faisal before abandoning the idea because of how negotiations between the clubs were conducted.
Any move for Mahmoud El-Gazzar could consequently depend on whether Al-Ahly’s position towards negotiating with Al-Ahly Bank changes.
The club also has the option of avoiding the transfer market altogether and using players already available to the coaching staff.
The source explained: “The third option for the coaching staff is to resort to solutions from within the current list, especially with the possibility of employing Ahmed Reda in the center of defense when needed, alongside Mohamed Hany, who can participate in this position according to the needs of the coaching staff. It is expected that Al-Ahly’s vision will become clearer during the coming period based on the level of Ashraf Dari and the extent of the coaching staff’s need to add a new defender before making the final decision regarding moving during the winter transfer period.”
For now, however, no formal meeting was held specifically to settle the issue.
The source stressed that no meetings in the known sense to discuss the matter took place yesterday. Instead, discussions were focused mainly on moving beyond the draw with Al-Mokawloon Al-Arab and preparing for the next match against Abu Qir Fertilizers.
Al-Ahly are therefore expected to assess their defensive options over the coming period before deciding whether to enter the January market.
The performances of Dari, the availability of existing defenders and the club’s willingness to negotiate domestically or pursue a foreign player will all contribute to the final decision.
