Zamalek's Stance on Ahmed Fattouh Transfer Rumors

Ahmed Fattouh’s name has slipped into the transfer gossip columns again, this time with a Saudi twist. Inside Zamalek, the answer is blunt: he’s not going anywhere.

Media pundit Ahmed Shobier moved to kill the story on his radio programme after reports in the Saudi press linked the left-back with Al-Fateh, buoyed by his standout displays for Egypt at the recent World Cup.

“One of the Saudi newspapers said that Al-Fateh is interested in signing Ahmed Fattouh,” Shobier explained, before underlining why the rumours have surfaced. “Fattouh certainly delivered a wonderful performance at the World Cup, and overall he is one of the wonderful players.”

The form is real. The interest, Shobier insists, is not.

He described the Al-Fateh talk as “journalistic speculation” and was categorical about Zamalek’s stance: there are no plans, and no intention, to sanction a sale in this window.

Zamalek are not short of bodies at left-back. Mahmoud Bentayeg is available. Echo has renewed his contract. Ahmed Khodary, who featured last season and convinced the staff of his reliability, is in the mix as well. On paper, that depth might tempt a club to cash in on a World Cup performer.

Zamalek see it differently.

For Moatamed Gamal and his staff, Fattouh is not just another name on a depth chart. His importance stretches beyond the traditional left-back role, with the head coach using him in more than one position in recent months. That versatility, combined with his international form, has only raised his stock internally.

Shobier underlined that point, stressing that Fattouh’s brilliance with Egypt has enhanced his technical value to Zamalek rather than nudged him towards the exit door.

He ended with a line that leaves little room for interpretation: “Everything being circulated about Ahmed Fattouh is merely journalistic speculation, and I am one million per cent confident that it is impossible for Zamalek to let Fattouh go. This is a settled matter.”

While the rumours swirl outside, Zamalek’s focus stays on the pitch. The squad continues its pre-season camp, sharpening up through a series of friendlies before the league opener against Al-Ittihad Al-Sakandary on 21 August at Cairo International Stadium — a date Fattouh is fully expected to meet in white.