Zamalek said on Sunday they had called off a deal to sign Danish-Egyptian forward Alexander Jakobsen after he refused to be technically assessed, with the interim board of directors coming under fire for making U-turn on other acquisitions.

The White Knights announced on Thursday that they had signed free agent Jakobsen, who was released by Norwegian club Sarpsborg in October, on a four-year deal, only to backtrack after he rejected the club's request to be evaluated.

"Coach Jaime Pacheco wanted to see the player in action during training to decide whether to sign him but he and his agent refused," Zamalek's football supervisor Ashraf Qassem told the club's official website.

"The football committee thus decided against completing the deal as per its policy of not making any decisions without the coach's consent."

Zamalek also held advanced talks with Ahmed El-Sheikh, who was offloaded by Cairo rivals Ahly, and former Larissa defender Aly Ghazal before opting against signing either.

The latest decisions by an interim three-man board, which took over following the suspension of outspoken chairman Mortada Mansour due to financial irregularities, enraged many of Zamalek's passionate supporters, who feel the club had not made enough to strengthen their squad before the new season starts.

"We suffered last season because of shortage of options on the bench. It will be the same in the new season; if any player gets injured we will not find a good replacement," said one fan on Twitter.

Despite boasting a star-studded squad, Zamalek finished the season without a major trophy.

They finished second in the Egyptian Premier League, lost to Ahly in a dramatic African Champions League final and exited the Egypt Cup at the hands of Talae El-Geish in the semi-final.

Zamalek made one close-season acquisition, signing Tunisian right-back Hamza Mathlouthi.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sportsand on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)