Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ENPPI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at ENPPI, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have shaken hands with Ittihad; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Rafik Kabou and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kahraba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ENPPI can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ENPPI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Rafik Kabou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kahraba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at ENPPI will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ENPPI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Alashkert is saying, and nobody at ENPPI is enjoying the guessing.
Rafik Kabou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Body Samir was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at ENPPI, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ghazl El Mahalla waiting with a shirt. Nobody at ENPPI is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ENPPI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kahraba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ararat-Armenia have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at ENPPI, another week without a signature from Anas Roshdy.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. ENPPI have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Nour Ashraf was one of the reasons people came, and $1.2M does not replace that by itself.
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
$77.0K settles it between the clubs for Peter Dakka
Wadi Degla have accepted the money. What ENPPI do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The deal with El Masry is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Rostov is saying, and nobody at ENPPI is enjoying the guessing.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ENPPI is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Rafik Kabou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at ENPPI can tell you which week it ends in.
43 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Arab Contractors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Arab Contractors have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Charles Bassey is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Arab Contractors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Hassan Shakosh has his answer from Arab Contractors; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
50 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Arab Contractors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Arab Contractors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ameed Sawafta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Arab Contractors will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Arab Contractors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad15 May 2028
Anas Roshdy, 20, is the weekend’s best young player
Measured against every other kid in the division and first among them. The senior award is where Arab Contractors would like this to lead.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shokry Naguib signs something — a contract at Arab Contractors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 57 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Position 3 on 66 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Arab Contractors is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Successful dribbles: 29. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Anas Roshdy, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.76
A mark of 7.76 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Successful dribbles: 37. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ENPPI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Rafik Kabou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kahraba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at ENPPI, and 5 appearances in 16 say he has earned the hearing.
Nobody at ENPPI will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” ENPPI have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ENPPI is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Rafik Kabou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kahraba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 8.15. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at ENPPI.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Ali El Mohamady kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
At 19 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ENPPI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kahraba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ammar Hamdy’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and ENPPI needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kahraba signs something — a contract at ENPPI or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nobody at ENPPI will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at ENPPI would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at ENPPI, another week without a signature from Anas Roshdy.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ENPPI is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Rafik Kabou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emad Mayhoub was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at ENPPI, another week without a signature from Anas Roshdy.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The words a physio says slowly. 24 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at ENPPI, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ahmed Sabeha was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kahraba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
ENPPI asked and Al Ahly said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ENPPI lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at ENPPI, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ENPPI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Rafik Kabou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Amr Gabr has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ramadan Elneny has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
94 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ENPPI lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ENPPI can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ENPPI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Rafik Kabou and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kahraba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
9 goals in 33 games at Arab Contractors — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at ENPPI updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. ENPPI know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutMody Naser asks for a word with the manager
The words a physio says slowly. 20 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.97 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
ENPPI asked and Mamelodi Sundowns said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Ahmed Sabeha and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
A 2‑0 win over Military Production, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at ENPPI, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” ENPPI may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at ENPPI until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The deal with El Masry is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Rafik Kabou and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at ENPPI, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and El Dakhleya waiting with a shirt. Nobody at ENPPI is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ENPPI this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mamelodi Sundowns have kept their man, and ENPPI go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A 1‑0 win over Haras El Hodoud, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kahraba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ENPPI can pretend not to have heard.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Rafik Kabou and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Add another name to the list: El Dakhleya have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ahmed Zaki. The answer from ENPPI has not changed — yet.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mohamed Hathout was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at ENPPI, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ahmed Kalosha was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Body Samir is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
It finished 1‑0, and it was Kahraba’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to ENPPI.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Kahraba was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.23. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kahraba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Ali El Mohamady could afford to be generous.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Rafik Kabou was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Anas Roshdy
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Anas Roshdy has come out of that comparison in the side, and ENPPI have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.