Zamalek announced in the early hours of Tuesday that they accepted a million euros bid from Turkish side Sivasspor to sign Egyptian international striker Amr Zaki. The Cairo club said in a brief statement on their official website that they gave Zaki the green light to join Sivasspor following a board meeting. Zamalek's decision to offload Zaki, who has endured an injury-plagued campaign last season, is likely to ease their persistent financial problems which prompted new coach Hassan Shehata and newly-signed midfielder Ahmed Hassan to hint that they could leave the club. Zaki joined Zamalek from Russian outfit Lokomotiv Moscow in the summer of 2006 and quickly settled in, establishing himself as a key player in the squad of a success-starved side, who last won the Egyptian Premier League in 2004. The only trophy he won with Zamalek was the 2008 Egyptian Cup at the expense of his former club ENPPI. The 28-year-old scored the winner in Zamalek's hard-fought 2-1 victory in superb fashion, eluding two challengers on the edge of the area with a skillful move before sending a low shot into the bottom corner of the net. He then spent a season-long loan with English Premier League side Wigan Athletic, during which he scored ten goals to top the scorers' chart at the halfway stage. However, he failed to earn a permanent stay due to disciplinary problems. Zaki also had a brief and unsuccessful stint with fellow Premier League club Hull City in 2010, after which he returned to Zamalek but niggling injury problems took its toll on him and restricted him to few appearances. Zamalek are likely to use the money generated from Zaki's transfer to allay the worries of Egypt skipper Hassan and coach Shehata. Hassan complained that he had yet to receive payment of the first installment of his contract after moving to the White Knights on a free transfer in the close season while Shehata seemingly feared the club were being overruled by arch rivals Ahly in the transfer market. Zamalek have signed four players so far - Hassan, Ghanaian defender Karimu Alhassan and Maqassa duo Hussein Hamdy (striker) and Hani Said (defender).
