Ittihad of Alexandria has officially inquired about signing Egypt and Sporting Lisbon midfielder Mahmoud "Shikabala" Abdel-Razik.

The relationship between Shikabala and Sporting, whom he joined on a deadline day transfer deal in January this year from Egypt's Zamalek, has been far from good of late after he failed to show up at training for more than a month now.

"We have contacted Lisbon's officials over the situation of Shikabala," Ittihad president Mahmoud Mashaly told Egyptian football website FilGoal.com late on Tuesday.

"The Portuguese club replied that it is difficult to sign the player as we must get the approval of his original club Zamalek.

"The other reason is that they are not planning to let him go despite his recent problems with the club," added Mashaly.

Shikabala has made a single appearance for Sporting. He played for 13 minutes in a 1-0 league defeat by Estoril in the final match of last season.

The 28-year-old forward was supposed to return to Portugal on 13 September after participating with the Egyptian national team in their two successive defeats by Senegal and Tunisia in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Earlier on September, Sporting dropped Shikabala from the UEFA Champions League squad and issued a statement regarding his lack of commitment.

Ittihad, who currently lie 16th in the Egyptian league table, are coached by former Egypt star Hossam Hassan who is known for his enthusiasm for his former player at Zamalek, Shikabala.

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