Egyptian champions Ahly have accepted an offer by English Premier League side West Bromwich Albion to sign the club's international defender Ahmed Hegazi for one season on loan, according to football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz. "Hegazi chose to play for West Bromwich. We also preferred to allow his departure, as we didn't want to force him to stay," Ahly's Abdel-Hafiz told Egyptian sports website FilGoal.com early on Saturday. "We will use the deal's fee to bolster the team with new signings to make Ahly stronger in the coming period," he added. After seeing a potential loan deal for Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma fall through, West Brom have shown interest in acquiring the services of ex-Fiorentina defender Hegazi for a reported fee of one million euros. Local media reports have confirmed that the 26-year-old player has already travelled to England to undergo a medical checkup with the Baggies on Saturday, with the deal expected to be officially finalised in the coming hours. Hegazi kicked off his overseas adventure in 2012 after sealing a switch to Fiorentina from boyhood club Ismaily, before moving on to a six-month loan deal to another Serie A side in Perugia in 2015. After ending his loan spell, the towering defender -- who has 39 Egypt caps -- returned to Fiorentina before switching to Ahly in the summer of 2015. West Brom, who usually adopt an ultra-defensive strategy under manager Tony Pulis, finished 10th in the Premier League last season. Hegazi will be the fourth Egyptian player in the English Premier League next season alongside Arsenal's midfielder Mohamed Elneny, Stoke City's winger Ramadan Sobhy and Liverpool's newly signed winger Mohamed Salah. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
