Ghanaian striker Abdul-Aziz Yakubu’s transfer to Al Ahly has fallen through in the final stages, despite the player even travelling to Cairo for a medical.
Al Ahly wanted to sign Yakubu to solve their struggles up front, with Mohamed Sherif, Shady Hussein, and Hossam Hassam having a total return of three goals in 28 games combined.
As a result, a deal was agreed upon between Al Ahly and Rio Ave, with Yakubu putting pen-to-paper on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
However, after travelling to Cairo to do his medical, it was discovered that the player had undergone two surgeries on his knee, which worried Al Ahly, given their history with injuries, as seen with Percy Tau.
Still keen on signing Yakubu, Al Ahly wanted to change the deal from a permanent one to a six-month loan, with an option to buy; however, they couldn’t agree on a deal with Rio Ave.
The original deal would have seen Al Ahly pay a fee of €2,5 million, but for the loan move, Rio Ave asked for €1,5 million, without the future buy fee.
Having already identified a replacement for Yakubu, Al Ahly decided to withdraw from the deal, despite the player’s desire of joining the Reds even on a loan deal.
Therefore, Abdul-Aziz Yakubu has now left Cairo and is on his way back to Portugal to re-join Rio Ave, for whom he scored eight goals in 15 games this season.
Meanwhile, his replacement for Al Ahly is yet to be revealed, but it’s understood the Reds will surely sign a new striker this January, especially after Hossam Hassan’s departure to Smouha.
Al Ahly have already made two winter signings, acquiring full-back Khaled Abdel-Fattah from Smouha, and Mohamed Dhaoui from Etoile du Sahel.
