Standard Liege chairman Reto Stiffler revealed interest in Ahli's holding midfielder Ahmed Fathi, according to agent Samir Abdul-Tawab. Stiffler is arriving in Egypt within the next few days to re-open talks with Zamalek over a winter offer for forward Shikabala. The same business trip will see the Belgian club president meet his Ahli counterpart Hassan Hamdi on Wednesday should the latter welcome the foreign approach. "Hamdi should announce on Monday whether Standard's overtures appeals to Ahli," Abdul-Tawab told FilGoal.com. "If so, he will sit down with Stiffler a couple of days later. "Standard are expected to table a €1.5million offer. Ahli will agree to let Fathi go if the bid is raised to €2million." Egypt ace Fathi, whose only adventure in Europe was at England's Sheffield United in 2007, stated a while back that he would like to join another foreign side in the near future.
Meteb signed for Standard but terminated his contract in no time The former Ismaili prodigy, a natural midfielder but also operates as a right-back in Ahli's 4-4-2 formation, was linked with a move to an unnamed English Premier League outfit back in August. The Cairo giants, however, decided to keep Fathi till the January transfer window, with reports suggesting that West Ham United were his English suitors. Ahli marketing director Adli Al-Qaeyi confirmed that Standard had contacted the Red Devils of late. "We received a fax from Standard saying they want to pay us a visit, but they didn't mention the purpose of it," Al-Qaeyi, who's renowned for his tendency not to reveal details about potential deals, told FilGoal.com. In the close season, Standard landed Ahli striker Emad Meteb on a two-year contract but the 27-year-old backed out of the deal without making a single appearance for the four-time Belgian champions.
