Ahli have completed the signing of Nasr sweeper Mohamed Khalaf, the Cairo giants announced on Wednesday. "Khalaf has signed a deal with us," Ahli marketing director Adli Al-Qaeyi told FilGoal.com. Nasr spokesman Abdul-Nasser Zidan also confirmed that Khalaf has joined Ahli but refused to disclose the transfer fee. The Egyptian champions beat arch-rivals Zamalek to the 23-year-old's signature to signal an attention-grabbing opener to their annual transfer duels. "We accepted Ahli's offer upon Khalaf's request. He didn't want to join Zamalek," Zidan added. Ahli have also signed Nigerian striker Chijioke Abai and Olympic defender Ateya Al-Belkasi, who will link up with the team after the season's end. In Demand A sweeper is still in demand in Egyptian football as the majority of clubs play with a traditional 3-5-2 formation. Ahli have struggled to fill in for former Egyptian international Emad Al-Nahhas, who twice suffered cruciate ligament damage in less than a year. Natural central defenders Shadi Mohamed and Mohamed Samir failed to impress while playing as sweepers. Khalaf could be the solution to Ahli's defensive problems, having impressed for Nasr this season. Nasr, the club where Ahli legend and current vice-president Mahmoud Al-Khatib began his career, were on the verge of sealing promotion to the Premier League but fell at the last hurdle.
