Al Ahly make move for Egypt World Cup defender Tarek Alaa

\n\n Egyptian giants Al Ahly have opened talks to sign right-back Tarek Alaa from ZED FC, days after the defender returned from the 2026 World Cup without playing a minute.

A source close to the player confirmed that Al Ahly’s head of recruitment, Essam Siraj, has already contacted the 24-year-old to sound him out over a summer transfer.

The approach comes despite Alaa only just completing a permanent move to ZED, who activated a purchase option following his loan from Pyramids in the second half of last season.

Al Ahly contact and player’s stance

Speaking to FilGoal.com, a source close to Alaa revealed the scale of Al Ahly’s interest.

He said: “عصام سراج مدير التعاقدات بالاهلي تواصل مع طارق علاء لاستطلاع رايه في الانضمام للفريق. اللاعب ابدى ترحيبه وطلب التواصل مع ناد زد”.

Translated, the source explained that Siraj had spoken directly with Alaa to gauge his willingness to join the record African champions, and that the player responded positively while asking that talks be held with his current club, ZED.

The same source stressed that regular first-team football will be central to any decision Alaa makes about his future.

واضاف “طارق علاء يضع المشاركة والحصول على فرصة اللعب ضمن اولوياته في خططه المستقبلية، لرغبته الحفاظ على تواجده في منتخب مصر”.

World Cup squad place but no minutes

Alaa was included in Egypt’s final squad for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, having caught the eye of national team boss Hossam Hassan with his displays for ZED.

طارق علاء لعب مع زد 14 مباراة وصنع هدفا، ولفت انظار حسام حسن المدير الفني لمنتخب مصر الذي ضمه لقايمة كاس العالم النهايية.

However, despite his selection, he did not feature in any of Egypt’s matches at the tournament, something which appears to have sharpened his focus on playing time at club level to safeguard his international prospects.

From loan move to transfer tussle

Alaa spent the second half of last season on loan at ZED from Pyramids, with a clause included allowing ZED to make the move permanent.

وقضى طارق علاء النصف الثاني من الموسم الماضي معارا من بيراميدز الى زد مع وجود بند باحقية الشراء.

وفعل نادي زد بند احقية الشراء ليضم طارق علاء بشكل نهايي.

ZED chose to trigger that option after the defender’s 14 appearances and one assist helped stabilise their campaign, making him officially their player just weeks before Al Ahly’s interest intensified.

Any deal now would therefore require Al Ahly to negotiate a transfer fee with ZED, who may be reluctant to lose a player who has quickly become one of their most prominent assets.

Competition at right-back for Al Ahly

Should Alaa complete a move, he would enter an already competitive right-back department at Al Ahly.

يذكر ان الاهلي يضم بين صفوفه محمد هاني الظهير الايمن الاساسي لمنتخب مصر، كما لديه في المركز ذاته احمد عيد وعمر كمال عبد الواحد.

Mohamed Hany remains Egypt’s first-choice right-back and a mainstay at Al Ahly, while Ahmed Eid and Omar Kamal Abdelwahad also provide options in the same position.

Alaa would therefore have to fight for minutes, even as he prioritises game time to maintain his place in Hossam Hassan’s national squad.

Busy summer of recruitment

The Cairo club have already been active in the transfer market as they look to strengthen their squad for domestic and continental challenges.

وتعاقد الاهلي مع 3 صفقات حتى الان بعدما ضم ثنايي انبي، علي محمود واقطاي عبد الله، والمغربي سفيان بنجديدة لاعب المغرب الفاسي.

Al Ahly have so far sealed three summer signings: Ali Mahmoud and Oqtay Abdullah from ENPPI, along with Moroccan forward Sofian Benjdida from Maghreb Fez.

A move for Alaa would further underline their intention to refresh key positions across the pitch, while setting up a potential tug-of-war with ZED over one of Egypt’s emerging defensive talents.