Ahly have ruled out the signing of former Egypt striker and free agent Mohamed Zidan when the transfer window reopens in January.

The Egyptian defending champions and recent winners of the African Confederation Cup have announced that they will head to the transfer market with plans to sign a defender, a midfielder and a striker.

"We need to sign new players in January because we need to reinforce our squad upon coach Carlos Garrido's request and also replace some long-term injured players," football director Wael Gomaa said earlier this week.

The Red Devils have been struggling upfront, especially considering international striker Mohamed Nagy "Gedo’s" injury and the recurrent injuries of Ethiopia forward Saladin Said, who has only made two appearances since joining the team last summer.

When it comes to strikers, Spanish coach Garrido is only left with veteran Emad Meteb and Ahmed Abdel-Zaher.

However, the general supervisor of football, Alaa Abdel-Sadek said that Zidan, 33, is not an option.

"We are looking for top quality players and also on the rise so they could serve the clubs for years to come. It will be hard to recruit Zidan as he is unlikely to fit in our plans," Abdel-Sadek told a radio program on Tuesday.

The former Mainz and Dortmund striker has been struggling with injuries since moving to Emirati side Bani Yas in 2012 and hasn't played a single competitive game since for almost two years now.

He resumed training a few months ago in Germany at his former club of Dortmund and announced his plans to return to football again.

The two-time African champion has been linked with a move to Arab Contractors where he could be paired with his former Egypt coach Hassan Shehata.

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