Zamalek football club president Mortada Mansour revealed that the Cairo giants are still in talks to sign Tunisian defensive midfielder Ferjani Sassi, hinting that key stars Mahmoud 'Shikabala' Abdel-Razeq, Mostaf Fathi and Ahmed El-Shenawi could be off the team in the new season. "I have not seen Sassi and I do not know him, but I know that he is the best player in Tunisia's national team so I asked to sign him," Mortada said in a press conference on Saturday. "I have already asked chairman of the Saudi Sports Authority Turki Al-Sheikh to finalise the deal and I do not know why some people are saying that the deal failed. "The player has just returned from a break. We are currently in contact with him and we await his arrival to Cairo, especially as Turki Al-Sheikh is personally in talks with his agent. "The player has not received other offers, especially since his current contract with Saudi club Al-Nasr is still ongoing," he added. The 26-year-old Sassi was a member of the Tunisia squad that recently appeared at the World Cup finals; putting his own stamp by scoring a goal in the opener against England. Egypt Cup winners Zamalek, who finished fourth in the Egyptian Premier League table last season, seek new reinforcements under recently appointed Swiss coach Christian Gross. "Gross is the only one who decided to sign new players or to offload others," Mortada explained. "We won't stick with any player who doesn't want to remain at Zamalek. "Shikabala must join the training sessions and get us an offer or we will put him on hold." Mortada also said that the same goes for El-Shenawi, for whom Pyramids Club has made an offer but Zamalek has not received the money so far. Mostafa Fathi faces the same situation, as he refused to renew his contract with the club, according to the Zamalek president. Mortada also insisted that the club duo Kabongo Kasongo and Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz will not be leaving this summer. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
