*Not all transfer fees are disclosed
1. Al Ahly:
4 signings – 108M EGP
Ahly completed the signing of highly coveted Malian midfielder Aliou Dieng from MC Algier. The 21-year-old CDM was targeted by many European teams but it was the Cairo club who got his signature. While it is unclear if he will immediately enter the starting XI, he is a signing for the future as Ahly hope he can replace club icon Hossam Ashour.
While Dieng is a more defensive signing, Ahly strengthened their attack by signing another young midfielder in Mohamed Magdy ‘Afsha’ (23) from Pyramids. Afsha was one of the most highly rated young players in Egypt when he was at ENPPI, but his transfer to Pyramids did not go as well as Turki Al-Sheikh hoped as he failed to hit it off and Pyramids made a significant loss on the transfer.
Ahly also extended the loan deal of Ramadan Sobhi from Huddersfield and signed Ismaily defender Mahmoud Metwally.
2. Smouha
16 signings
Smouha were clearly disappointed with their results last season as they signed many players to revamp their team.
These signings include former Zamalek defender Mohamed Koffi as well as Al Ahly’s Nasser Maher on loan.
They also signed young keeper Omar Salah and El-Hany Soliman from Ittihad Alexandria to replace Abou-Galal who moved to Zamalek.
Islam El-Far and Mahmoud Abdel-Halim also joined from Nogoom FC, in addition to Zamalek duo Mohamed Ashraf and Ahmed Daouda.
3. Zamalek:
8 signings – Undisclosed
Zamalek had a very busy transfer window. They signed Ismaily and Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed Awad for a hefty fee (35M EGP). They reacquired experienced left back Mohamed Abdel Shafy. Highly rated Moroccan winger Achraf Bencharki joined the White Castle from Hilal of the Saudi League.
Emam Ashour (Mahalla), Karim Bambo (Ismaily), Islam Gaber (Makkasa), and Abou-Gabal (Smouha) also joined.
Zamalek were involved in a blockbuster African transfer that saw the White Castle acquire Mohamed Ounnajem for 25M EGP from Wydad Casablanca and Kabongo Kasongo go the other way on loan.
Despite all of their acquisitions this window, it still might not be enough to overtake Ahly as they lost many players. Hamid Ahadad, Islam Gamal, Dunga, Bassem Morsy, Mohamed Ibrahim, Ibrahim Hassan, and Kahraba are the most important deparutures.
4. Pyramids:
9 signings
Pyramids had a poor transfer window overall in comparison to last summer as they lost many key players due to the departure of owner Turki Al-Sheikh. Pyramids have a very formidable front line now as they signed last season’s EgyPL leading scorer Ahmed Ali and all time foreign goalscorer John Antwi as well as Al Masry’s best player Islam Issa. A lot of their other signings are risks on unknown talent such as Mohamed Atwa, Mahmoud Hamada, and Lumala Abdu.
Their departures (although on loan) will hurt the team significantly. Keno to Al Jazira, Christian Benevente to Ligue 1, and Afsha to Ahly are big losses for the team.
Omar Khirbin’s loan expired and the duo of Amr Marei and Okechukwu Azubuike left on loan.
5. Wadi Degla:
4 signings
Degla only strengthened their attack this window. 20-year-old attacking midfielder Mira joined from Arab Contractors. Rafik Kabou, a 26 year old Tunisian right-winger, was acquired from US Monastir of the Tunisian first division.
They also completed the signing of Moroccan winger Abdelkabir El Ouadi from Ittihad Tanger to replace Ibrahima Ndiaye, who moved to Swiss side FC Luzern earlier this month.
Degla also signed two rising players from Makkasa, Marwan Hamdi and Ragab Omran on loan.
3 signings
25-year-old midfielder Mohamed Essam from the Polish second division might be an important piece for the team. They also signed Abdelrahman Farouk (Entag El Harby) and Mohamed Salem (El Dakhlia).
Arab Contractors also confirmed the signing of former Paris Saint-Germain youngster Abdallah Yaisien on a free transfer.
They will struggle with the loss of Ahmed Ali, as it will be very hard to replace his league-leading goal scoring numbers.
9 signings
Despite being one of the smaller teams in the EgyPL, Ittihad had a decent window, luring many players to the Borg Al Arab. Their most important signing is Emmanuel Okwi from Simba (Tanzania). The Uganda star striker will likely light the league on fire.
Wallace and Toni Silva departed the team and went to the Romanian leagues.
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