Smouha striker Hossam 'Paolo' Salama, Egyptian league top scorer for the past two seasons, signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Zamalek, the Cairo giants announced on Sunday. The 33-year-old is rated as one of the best strikers in Egypt and was expected to be part of the national team's squad for the African Cup of Nations but he was eventually left out of the Gabon finals. After scoring 20 goals with modest Dakhleya in 2014, Paolo joined Alexandria-based club Smouha in the summer of 2015 where he also shone, netting 17 goals to finish as the league's top for a second successive season. He made a fine start this season, scoring six goals before being sidelined after a fall-out with former Smouha coach Helmi Toulan. Paolo is expected to compete with Zamalek's Bassem Morsi for a place in the starting line-up after the latter had recently renewed his contract. Other strikers like Zambian Emmanuel Mayuka and Ahmed Gaafar are not expected to be part of Zamalek's plans for the rest of the season.
