CAIRO: Zamalek are set to play two friendlies in preparation for the African Champions League, the club said. The Egyptian Cup finalists will host Railway FC on Friday and are due to play a second-division side, still unnamed, on Monday. Zamalek will play Rwanda s APR in the preliminary round. They play the first leg away on Feb. 15. Zamalek unlikely to sign Drissa in January Zamalek also said they are unlikely to wrap up a deal for Ivorian midfielder Bamba Drissa in the January transfer window, assistant coach Ayman Mansour said on Monday. The player is training with youth team coach Mahmoud Saad, but we may not be able to sign him before the transfer window closes, Mansour told FilGoal.com There are just three days remaining, we are running out of time. Drissa played for Tunisian side Monastir and recently had a trial with Norwegian club Rosenborg. Zamalek have failed in their attempts to strengthen the team s weak midfield. Their bid to sign Trabzonspor Egyptian midfielder Ayman Abdul-Aziz was turned down by the Turkish club. Although our latest offer matched Trabzonspor s asking price, they turned down the bid, Hafez told Modern TV. We will not engage in further talks with the Turkish outfit, the matter is closed now. The Cairo giants also targeted Petrojet s Mohamed Koffi but the Petroleum wealthy club stood firm on their stance not to release their stars. Petrojet rejected out offer for Koffi. The player has a release clause, but we opted not to sign him this way, Hafez added. Hafez also insisted that Zamalek never considered bringing back Ibrahim Saied to the club. The Ankaragucu versatile defender consistently expressed his desire to return to Egypt as he targeted a move to either Ahli or Zamalek. However, Zamalek firmly decided not to secure the controversial player s services, recalling his previous troubles with the club s board and fans
