Egypt’s general coach Diaa El-Sayed has revealed contacts with Haissem Hassan to represent the Pharaohs, saying the Villarreal winger is considering between Egypt and France.
Born in France to an Egyptian father and a Tunisian mother, Hassan came through the youth ranks of Paris FC and LB Châteauroux, before impressing and getting promoted to the first team at just the age of 17.
After just 19 appearances with Châteauroux, Hassan attracted interest from several European sides, including Fiorentina, Brentford, and Lille, but he instead chose to join LaLiga giants Villareal for a reported fee of €2m.
Putting pen-to-paper on a four-year deal, Hassan was limited to playing time with the B team in the third tier, scoring twice in 24 games to help them qualify for the promotion groups.
Despite finishing bottom of their promotion group, Hassan got to join LaLiga 2 club CD Mirandés on loan, who will hope to earn a promotion to the top tier for the first time in the club’s history.
During this season, Hassan played every game for Mirandés, assisting twice against UD Las Palmas earlier this month, which led newly-appointed Egypt manager Carlos Queiroz and the EFA to get in contact with the player over a potential call-up.
Hassan represented France’s U-17 and U-18 sides and even made their 2019 U-17 World Cup squad, and despite reports claiming he is open to represent Tunisia, it looks like it’s between France and Egypt, according to Diaa El-Sayed.
“Regarding Haissem Hassan, Queiroz asked me to collect compilations for him of all the Egyptian players who play in clubs outside Egypt,” El-Sayed said.
“We admire Hassan, and his father asked us to give them a chance until May because he wants to choose between us and France, as his father is Egyptian, his mother is Tunisian, and he lives in France.
“We didn’t shut the door for him, and we didn’t tell him ‘who doesn’t want us, we don’t want him.’
“We left the door open for him to think until May, and I hope at that time we are in a good position that motivates him to join us.
“Queiroz will only depend on the players who are ready because the ready player is the one who will benefit us.
“All the players are important to us, whether they play abroad or in Egypt, and the one who is fit and ready is the one we will rely on,” he added.
