Emad El-Nahhas confirms Al-Wehdat agreement and Thursday move to Jordan

Emad El-Nahhas has confirmed an agreement to become head coach of Jordanian club Al-Wehdat, with the former Al-Masry manager set to travel to Jordan on Thursday.

Speaking to MBC Masr, El-Nahhas said: “Al-Wehdat is a big name and a club with a large fan base.”

The Egyptian coach revealed that negotiations with Al-Wehdat’s board lasted two days before the deal was completed. He will take an Egyptian coaching team with him, apart from goalkeeper coach Amir Abdel Hamid, because the club already has a Jordanian coach in that position.

El-Nahhas added that he would leave for Jordan on Thursday to begin his new role.

His coaching staff will include Mohamed Mohsen Abu Gresha as assistant manager, Abdel Rahman Farouk as assistant coach and Ayman Mohamed as performance analyst.

The appointment comes after El-Nahhas left Al-Masry following the third round of the season. He recorded two wins and one defeat, against Pyramids, before the club decided to dismiss him.

El-Nahhas also spoke about the increasing presence of Egyptian coaches in Arab football.

“I am in Jordan with Tarek Mostafa, while Mo’men Suleiman is in Iraq,” he said. “We were late in coaching big teams because of coaching licences, but the Egyptian coach is capable of working at Arab clubs and is competing strongly with Arab coaches.”

Al-Wehdat are eighth in the league table after three rounds, with two points. They drew 0-0 with Al-Faisaly and Al-Salt, before losing 1-0 to Al-Ramtha.

The club also suffered a 2-1 defeat by Al-Faisaly in the semi-finals of the Jordanian Super Cup. Following the poor results, Al-Wehdat dismissed head coach Wasim Al-Bzour and his assistant coaching staff.

El-Nahhas said he had chosen not to make public appearances after the recent crisis at Al-Masry.

“I refused to appear during the recent period after the latest Al-Masry crisis,” he said. “It was difficult to appear again and speak about the crisis.”

Al-Wehdat have won the Jordanian league title 17 times, with their most recent triumph coming in 2021.