Zamalek have upped their desperation stakes to lure star man Shikabala into staying with the club and snubbing European offers. The Whites, currently in Saudi Arabia, are trying hard to talk their midfield wizard out of his exit plan, amid serious interest from Belgian champions Anderlecht. While their recent attempts to negotiate a new deal in Cairo came to no avail due to the player's ‘personal commitments', the Zamalek board have decided to change tactics. “We agreed with chairman Galal Ibrahim to open talks with Shikabala over a new contract in Saudi Arabia,” Zamalek board member Tarek Ghoneim, who was assigned with the task of extending Shika's contract, told FilGoal.com. “We decided to take that step away from home because the atmosphere in Egypt does not help each time we try to talk with the player.” Shikabala runs out of contract with Zamalek in January 2012. Even though the 24-year-old agreed to sign an extension with the club during the reign of former chairman Mamdouh Abbas last year, the deal was canceled by the new Zamalek board. Zamalek have recently raised their asking price for the Egypt international to €4.5million.
