Egyptian football giants Al Ahly are set to convene a crisis meeting in the coming days to address several pressing squad issues ahead of the new season, following their early exit from the FIFA Club World Cup.
The meeting will be chaired by club president Mahmoud El Khatib and will seek resolutions to a number of player-related complications.
The first issue centres on winger Ahmed Abdelkader, who has returned from a loan spell. Abdelkader is reportedly reluctant to go out on loan again and is seeking a permanent move away from the club, as he doubts he will have enough playing time given the competition in his position.
However, Al Ahly prefer to either keep him or send him out on loan while renewing his contract.
Another point of contention involves Tunisian midfielder Mohamed Dhaoui Christo, who has completed his loan spell with CS Sfaxien. Christo, through his French agent, has made it clear that he is unwilling to be loaned out again.
He has presented the club with two options: either reintegrate him into the squad or release him and pay out the remainder of his contract.
The third dilemma concerns Moroccan winger Reda Selim. Although open to a loan move, Selim insists on receiving his full annual salary of $600,000 from Al Ahly.
So far, all loan offers received for him fall well below that amount, with none exceeding $300,000.
Another complication involves Petrojet. Al Ahly are obligated to loan a player to the club as part of the Ahmed Reda transfer deal last summer.
However, convincing any of the current squad members to make the move has proven difficult.
Additionally, the club must finalise their foreign player list by Saturday, with only five non-Egyptians allowed on the initial registration list.
Moroccan duo Achraf Dari and Achraf Bencharki, Malian midfielder Aliou Dieng, and Slovenian defender Gennik Gardiscar are expected to be included.
This leaves just one slot open. New signing Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane will be placed on the second list due to his recent arrival. Meanwhile, Moroccan left-back Yahya Attiat Allah has exited the club after declining to extend his loan from Russian side Sochi.
The final decision Al Ahly must make is whether to use the fifth foreign player slot on Christo or Reda Selim.
If neither is registered, they will automatically become free agents, posing a significant risk to the club’s asset management.
