Moemen Zakareya, a key member of Zamalek's squad, made a surprise move to Cairo foes Ahly on Tuesday after the White Knights failed to make his loan deal permanent. The attacking midfielder, who can also operate as a winger, left his parent club ENPPI to join Ahly on a five-year deal after ending an 18-month spell with Zamalek. “Football director Alaa Abdel-Sadek would like to announce that Zakareya has joined Ahly for LE5 million ,” The Red Devils said on their website after making the 26-year-old their first signing of the January transfer window. Zakareya is a regular member of Zamalek's starting line-up under Portuguese coach Jaime Pacheco, who reportedly wanted to keep hold of him but the club failed to meet the financial demands of ENPPI. He is the team's top scorer in the Egyptian Premier League with seven goals, including a screamer that helped them defeat promoted Damanhour 2-1 on Monday. “Zakareya's desire to join Ahly was a decisive factor in sealing the deal. He will be a valuable asset to the club,” Abdel-Sadek said. Ahly and Zamalek are fierce competitors in the transfer market, with both vying to lure the country's highly-rated footballers. Zamalek signed more than a dozen players in the close season as they seek to win their first league title in a decade. Bitter foes Ahly have dominated Egypt's premier domestic competition since 2004, winning eight consecutive titles. Zakareya's departure is likely to prompt Pacheco to field youngster Mostafa Fathi, a talented winger who played regularly under coach Mido before falling down the pecking order when the former Boavista manager took over. Zamalek lead the 20-team league table with 34 points, 10 clear of fourth-placed Ahly who have three games in hand. (For more sports news andupdates, follow AhramOnlineSports on Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/119179.aspx
