Essam Al-Hadari said on Thursday his January move to Ismaili fell through because Sion felt he was an indispensible member of their squad. The Egypt keeper was close to joining Ismaili before the closure of the January transfer window as the Dervishes sought to find a replacement for the error-prone Mohamed Sobhi. But he eventually remained at Swiss side Sion, whom he joined without the consent of his former club Ahli in February 2008. "There were financial differences between Ismaili and Sion, but that wasn't the reason behind the deal's collapse," Al-Hadari told FilGoal.com. "Sion chairman Christian Constantin said he couldn't let me depart even if I received a mega offer because I was an integral part of the team's plans. "But he promised me that I would be able to leave at the end of the season." The 36-year-old keeper stated more than once that he wished his displays for Sion would help him move to a competitive European league. Safe Al-Hadari is adamant Sion do not risk relegation from the Swiss Super League despite lying third from bottom in the 10-team table. "Sion's position is safe. We are level on points with seventh-placed team Bellinzona and a have a game in hand against bottom side Lucerne." "If we win that game and beat Vaduz, who are ninth in the table, we will move away from the danger zone," Al-Hadari concluded.
