Player Profile: Mohamed El-Nenny

Designed by @mmghanem_

Name: Mohamed El-Nenny
Date of Birth: July 7, 1992
Height: 1.80m (5 ft 9 in)
Nationality: Egyptian
Current Club: FC Basel (Switzerland)
Previous Club(s): Arab Contractors
Position: Defensive Midfielder
Foot: Right

Click here for the latest on Mohamed El-Nenny.

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Mohamed El-Nenny is one of Egypt’s hottest new talents and so far best-hidden secrets. At the age of 20, El-Nenny was the youngest player in Bob Bradley’s Egyptian squad. He has already impressed the American sufficiently to become a regular starter in the heart of Egypt’s midfield ahead of experienced players like Hossam Ghaly, Mohamed Shawky and even legend Ahmed Hassan. Given their pedigree, that is a massive achievement in itself.

But El-Nenny didn’t just spring up out of nowhere. At the age of 18 he because a regular starter for Arab Contractors in the Egyptian Premier League, an impressive accomplishment considering how distrustful Egyptian coaches tend to be of their youngsters. He recorded two goals in a losing effort to Zamalek in 2010-11, and in the following season recorded three assists in 14 matches as a defensive midfielder before his season was cut short because of the tragic events in Port Said in February.

With Egypt, El-Nenny has accumulated a massive amount of experience in a short amount of time. He was a regular with the U20s at the age of 18, before moving up to the U23 team and becoming a regular there too. When Bob Bradley was appointed manager of Egypt, El-Nenny would play for both the U23 team and the national team—a testament to how highly rated he is among all of Egypt’s staff.

Now a regular for the Egyptian national team and FC Basel, El-Nenny has cemented his place Egypt’s most successful young talent behind Mohamed Salah. He will be rock in Egypt’s midfield for many years to come.

Mohamed El-Nenny has been a regular for FC Basel since he moved there and has developed well under all of the coaches there. His raw talent has gradually developed and like wine he became better as time passed.

The first period was under Murat Yakin who was in charge when the Egyptian was first taken on loan by the Swiss side before making his move permanent. El-Nenny was quite raw when he made the move and Yakin helped him get the best out of his talent and become more consistent.

After Murat Yakin left the team after the 2013-2014 season, Paulo Sousa took over at FC Basel and was very successful with the Swiss side. Sousa was arguably the Basel manager with the largest impact on El-Nenny’s development. Sousa made El-Nenny the side’s primary distributor of the ball and the Egyptian shined in that role. El-Nenny called Sousa his “father” after the Portuguese manager left FC Basel. The relationship between them was strong enough that El-Nenny was linked with Sousa’s new employers Fiorentina.

Sousa left the Swiss side after being in charge for a season, moving to Fiorentina. Urs Fishcer was next to sit on sidelines at FC Basel and like both managers before him, El-Nenny was a regular under his leadership. El-Nenny who is always working to improve his game, had his best start to the season to date in Basel under Fishcer. While his work-rate has always been exemplary, El-Nenny didn’t have much to offer forward except his distribution. This season El-Nenny has already notched 6 goals for Basel, double the goals he scored in the eternity of the last campaign. With his attacking effort, El-Nenny has started to catch the eyes of clubs around Europe.

El-Nenny has now accumulated over 40 caps for the Egyptian National team and has been an undisputed starter under all the coaches that took over  since he started featuring regularly under Bradley. For a player who is only 23 he boasts a lot of international experience which can be seen in his calmness on the ball. The young midfielder is well on his way to join the players who have amassed over 100 caps for the National Team. El-Nenny has already cemented himself as a starter and if he continues his development at the rate that he has, he will be in the line up for year to come.

The Egyptian international boasts a lot of experience for his tender years and has been playing in the Champions League for Basel since he first joined the club. He has experience in what is arguably the most decorated club championship in the world. After quite the successful start to the season with FC Basel, El-Nenny has caught the eye of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger whose club is rumoured to make a move for the player in the winter transfer window of the 2015-2016 season.

Follow @Mo_Hendy

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Pros:

– Excellent vision and distribution

– Accurate short and long passing

– Great stamina

– High effort level

-Very consistent player
Cons:

– Might need to bulk up to handle tough opposition

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