Al Ahly’s Winter Rewrite: A Bold Two-Player Sniper Move Incoming

Behind-the-Scenes Talks Shape Al Ahly’s Winter Strategy

In the coming hours, a decisive internal session at Al Ahly is set to determine winter transfer plans, following the first team’s clash with AS FAR Rabat in Rabat in the CAF Champions League’s Group B second round.

The meeting will be attended by Mahmoud Al-Khatib, the club’s chairman and head of football, Sayed Abdelhafeez, board member, the Danish coach Yies Torup, Mohamed Youssef, the sporting director, and Walid Salahuddin, the football director.

A source told Koora that an earlier session presented several candidate options to Torup, who asked for a pause after tonight’s Rabat game to decide on the deals.

In that session, the coach outlined four winter-window needs: a forward, a midfielder, a left-back, and a central defender.

Two Surprise Targets Surface in the Transfer Talks

The club’s scouting team proposed two potential signings: Moroccan left-back Youssef Belamri of Raja Casablanca and the Moroccan national team, and Congolese forward Afimiko Bololo from Jagiellonia Bialystok in Poland, to Torup.

A reliable source said Torup has approved pursuing the pair, with talks ongoing through an intermediary representing Al Ahly.

He added that Belamri and Bololo’s contracts with their current clubs expire at the end of the season, so negotiations are initially with agents before shifting to direct talks with their clubs for the remaining six months if needed. If negotiations stall, Al Ahly could still secure either player at season’s end, hoping for a strong showing at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco to attract big interest.

Al Ahly’s Foreign-Player Dilemma

Club officials face a challenge in adding foreign players above the age limit if it means releasing current foreigners. Ahly’s squad currently includes Tunisian Mohamed Ali Ben Ramadan, Moroccan Ashraf Ben Sharqi, Ashraf Dari, Slovenian Jenik Gardiar, Mali’s Youssef Ndianj, plus two loan players returning at season’s end: Moroccan Rida Slim and Tunisian Mohamed Al-Daoui Kristo. The club is seeking to sell or loan Dari and Gardiar to clear space for new foreign signings, especially in forward and left-back roles.

Al Ahly and Moroccan Clubs

The men’s first team meets AS FAR Rabat tonight in the CAF Champions League Group B, at Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat. It’s the second meeting in African club competitions between the sides; the first was the 2006 CAF Super Cup, played at Cairo’s Stadium, ending scoreless before Ahly won on penalties to lift the trophy.

Regarding Ahly’s history with Moroccan clubs in African competitions, the team has played 32 matches against seven Moroccan clubs — Raja Casablanca, AS FAR, Wydad Casablanca, Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi, Maroc Town (Morocco Development), Moghreb Tétouan and Renaissance; Ahly has 13 wins, 12 draws, and 7 losses, scoring 39 goals and conceding 28.

Final Lecture and Game-Day Logistics

The Danish coach will hold a final tactical briefing before departing to Moulay Hassan Stadium, outlining the chosen game plan and giving tactical instructions for both defense and attack, while highlighting the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.

The team will move after the briefing and is scheduled to reach the venue an hour and a half before kickoff, with the exact timing set in the recent technical meeting. The travel plan and all organizational details were reaffirmed during that gathering.

From the Pitch to the Airport

Ahly’s delegation will head directly to Rabat airport after the match, boarding the flight back to Cairo. The sides’ kits were finalized at the technical meeting: Ahly in red shirts, black shorts, red socks, while the goalkeeper wears green; the Army side wears black with green and red stripes, black shorts, and black socks.

The match, as noted, marks a classic continental fixture and the end of a long day of football strategy, travel, and probably a few more coffee refills than a stadium bell would like to admit.

Punchline time: If this transfer window were a sniper, it would be precise, patient, and somehow still early for January’s deadline — because timing is everything, even in football wizardry. And if patience were a tactic, Al Ahly’s board would win the league with a seat and a good joke while waiting for agents to reply. A bit of humor to close, because football is better when the drama wears a smile.