Gil Vicente thanked Soares in a statement, saying that he will be "forever memorable" in the history of the Portuguese club.

The club also confirmed the departure of assistants Mauricio Vaz, Raul Faria, Paulo Lobo and Pedro Guimaraes.

Widespread reports in Portugal and Egypt said Soares had reached an agreement to take charge of Ahly, who had been intensively looking for a new manager since the departure of South African coach Pitso Mosiame earlier this month.

Caretaker coach Sami Komsan has been in charge since then, qualifying the team for the 2020/21 Egypt Cup semis and helping them to two league wins out of three games, drawing only with arch-rivals and main challengers Zamalek.

Ahly have not yet released any statements but Soares and his staff are expected to arrive in Cairo before the end of the week to complete the move.

Soares took charge of Gil Vicente in 2020, helping them to finish fifth in the domestic league for only the second time in their history as they secured a place in the Europa Conference League.

Under his guidance, Vil Vicente won 13 games, drew 12 and lost nine in the Portuguese league.