Former Egypt coach Hassan Shehata has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with Zamalek after the Cairo giants vowed to fulfill his demands.
Shehata hinted on Monday that he might not proceed with the deal if Zamalek could not afford to sign six players of his choosing and fulfill financial obligations towards the likes of left-back Mohamed Abdel-Shafy and attacking midfielder Hussein Yasser, who complained about late payments.
The highly-successful tactician, who steered Egypt to three consecutive African Cup of Nations titles, said he aimed to avoid the fate of his predecessor Hossam Hassan, under whom Zamalek stumbled in the latter stages of the Egyptian Premier League season.
The White Knights' lack of squad depth cost them dearly as they surrendered a six-point lead over Ahly to eventually gift their archrivals a seventh consecutive league title.
"We need around LE50 million to sign the new players requested by Shehata. We will sign them and pay the salaries of the players on installments," Zamalek chairman Galal Ibrahim said on the club's official website.
Success-starved Zamalek are suffering from a persistent financial problem which deprived them of the kind of big-name signings Ahly has made over the past few seasons.
Zamalek last won the league title in 2004. They have only won the 2008 Egyptian Cup since then.
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