Zamalek abort talks for Shikabala's move to Napoli
Ahmed Abd El Rasoul, Saturday 30 Jun 2012
Zamalek halt talks over Shikabala loan to Serie A club Napoli, forward Amr Zaki misses Saturday's training


The Zamalek board will end talks with with Italian side Napoli in what was a likely loan move of the club's forward Mahmoud Abdel-Razek "Shikabala" to the Serie A.

"The club board decided to end the talks with the Italian club," the Whites said in a statement in their official website late on Friday.

"On Wednesday, the board had decided to accept that Shikabala be transferred to Napoli on a one-season loan deal against $1.8 million after receiving the offer from an official agent.

"We gave the agent until Friday night to bring an official offer from Napoli, but failing to do so, we decided to end the talks and consider the other offers for the player," added Zamalek's statement.

The 26-year old gifted forward fell out of favour at Zamalek after an altercation with Coach Hassan Shehata for substituting him during a CAF Champions League match last May.

Shehata presented his resignation notice following the incident, but the board rejected it and decided to show the troublesome player the door.

Since then, the player has been excluded from trainings. He was also dropped from the Pharaohs squad during their World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers’ campaign, as well as the Olympic team that is set to compete in the London 2012 Games.

This has been another huge setback in Shikabala’s young career, as the player is seen as one of the most imminent talents in Egypt, which has been constantly hampered by his temper.

Zamalek are currently preparing to face Ghana's Chelsea in the group stage of the CAF Champions League on 8 July.

Veteran striker Amr Zaki was absent from Saturday's training session after getting a permission for a one-day rest. The player just returned to Cairo from Saudi Arabia following the Olympic team exit from Arab Cup and will be available for Sunday's trainings.

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