Danish coach Jess Thorup has surprised Al Ahly’s hierarchy with a clear and demanding vision for the winter transfer window, outlining specific areas he believes must be strengthened to keep the team competitive on all fronts.
Thorup recently held several meetings with club officials, including board member and football vice-supervisor Sayed Abdelhafiz, to discuss the squad’s needs ahead of January.
In those talks, he asked for reinforcements in four key positions: centre forward, left back, centre back and defensive midfielder, signalling that he views the current depth in these roles as insufficient for Al Ahly’s ambitions.
A club source told Kooora that Thorup rejected all three locally based centre-backs that were proposed to him, as he felt none of them would add real quality to the team. He instead requested a foreign defender, but the football administration explained that bringing in more non-Egyptian players is complicated at the moment because of registration and marketing constraints, especially with the club prioritising an overseas striker.
Talks are at an advanced stage to sign Raja Casablanca left back Youssef Belamri, with the deal described as 95% done, while the plan is to promote a young defender born in 2005 or 2007 so he does not take up a foreign quota spot. At the same time, several Al Ahly youth talents are moving closer to European opportunities, including permanent and trial moves in Portugal and Croatia, reflecting a growing pathway from the club’s academy to Europe.
