Zamalek pull out of Al-Saied race, Ahli closer

Ahli became closer to signing Ismaili’s Abdullah Al-Saied as Zamalek decided to relinquish their interest in the sought-after midfielder. Zamalek made a bid for Al-Saied last week and were considered frontrunners ahead of Ahli to land the 26-year-old this summer. However, the Whites opted to end their pursuit for the Egypt international after learning that he prefers to join their arch-rivals. “We decided to pull out of the deal because Ismaili are stalling in negotiations, this is apart from the player’s desire,” Zamalek chairman Ibrahim told FilGoal.com. “We were assured that Al-Saied does not want to play for Zamalek, so we decided to end talks with the Ismaili board immediately.” Meanwhile, Ismaili are looking to reach an agreement with Ahli this week, but insist on receiving an additional EGP 1million for their top scorer.The coastal club initially offered Al-Saied for EGP 13million; a price tag which was way above the bid made by serious suitors Ahli. “We only need to agree on the payment method, plus the fact that we are asking for an additional EGP 1million,” Ismaili board member Othman Ateya said. FilGoal.com has learnt that Ahli offered EGP 6.5million, plus a one-year loan of Algerian starlet Amir Sayoud, with Al-Saied giving up his unpaid dues at Ismaili. “We respect the player’s desire to play for Ahli, but they must not use this to put pressure on Ismaili and force us to sell him at a low price,” added the Dervishes official. “If Abdullah agreed to give up on EGP 1million of his dues, then we will accept the offer right away as long as it is higher than the EGP 7.5million offered by Zamalek.” Ahli, who paid around EGP 20million on new signings this summer, will have to strike a deal with Ismaili before the end of the transfer window on Thursday.