CAIRO: Dubai businessman Soliman Al-Fahim, who s set to acquire Portsmouth in the near future, said he's convinced with Amr Zaki s capabilities. Pompey were mooted a while back as a possible destination for the Zamalek star, but the Cairo club have repeatedly laid stress on their desire to hold onto him. However, they failed to fend off interest from Portsmouth, who are still pursuing the former Wigan Athletic man despite the White Knights hands-off warning. Al-Fahim revealed that "negotiations with Zaki to bring him in on a loan deal with a view to a permanent transfer are still ongoing. Later on, his media advisor Samir Al-Neel said that Zaki was the Emirati tycoon s favorite Arab player. Al-Fahim told me that Zaki is good enough to play for the strongest Premier League clubs, Manchester United including, Al-Neel told Egyptian radio. Portsmouth board and coach (Paul Hart) have reservations about a possible deal with Zaki, because of the latter s problems at Wigan Athletic last season, he added, But Al-Fahim really believes in him, and asked the club s officials to give him a chance. The Premiership side initially offered Zaki to join them on an extendable four-month deal for no transfer fee. He would be paid a wage during that period, which would be extended if he proved his worth, Al-Neel explained. Zamalek rejected the offer outright, and called for a ?1 million in return for his services till January on a loan basis. Both clubs are still trying to reach an agreement. Al-Fahim admires Zaki a lot, but his not going to oblige Portsmouth to land him. He would like to see the deal go through in a professional way without any pressure. Zaki said more than once that he would like to continue his European adventure, but Zamalek are adamant that he would spend this season at the Egyptian Premier League.
