If you were following our twitter feed yesterday you were among the first to learn of Ramzi Saleh signing a 30 month deal with Zamalek, the current Egyptian league leaders. Well, less than 24 hours later that deal has been cancelled. Zamalek’s front office had anticipated being able to hammer out the details of the contract whilst waiting for the goalkeeper’s registration papers. For whatever reason, that didn’t work out and Ramzi Saleh is once again a free agent with the ability to field offers from any club in the world.
Media speculation cites Ramzi Saleh’s wage demands as the reason the deal fell through. It is important to note that wages in this part of the world usually dictate your place on the depth chart. If Ramzi was expected to compete with current #1 Abdelwahed Al-Sayed he would have been offered a compensation package that reflected that. It is likely Zamalek’s league leading form meant the club wasn’t interested in allowing Ramzi Saleh to challenge for a starting spot.
In another twist to this story, Al-Quds is reporting that Zamalek are interested in taking Hilal Al-Quds goalkeeper Abduallah Al-Saidawi on trial with a view to signing him permanently if he impresses.
As for Ramzi Saleh, he will have plenty of Egyptian suitors, teams that have expressed in interest in him before include: Ittihad Alexandria, Arab Contractors, and Harras Al-Hodoud. Ramzi previously stated a desire to move back to Cairo but that would be contingent on relegation battling Arab Contractors offering him a lucrative contract with a release clause if the club do go down. Another option would be to try and court interest from a European clubs with the aim of securing a series of trials.
