By: Mohamed S. Chbaro
MiddleEastFootball.com
DOHA, Qatar, March 21: Unsettled Iranian all-round midfielder Karim
Bagheri is being reportedly linked with Egyptian league champions
Zamalek, sources close to the Cairo giants were quoted by Kuwaiti daily
paper Al-Watan on Thursday.
"The player has agreed a one-year contract with Zamalek, close to
the $300,000 mark", the paper stated.
"The club's impresario Jalal Mahmoud has been notified about the
decision, and Bagheri will trip to Cairo to finalize things this
weekend."
Bagheri, 27, has been suffering from a loss of form ever since he joined
Qatari outfits Al-Sadd last November. His club, lying at the
second-from-bottom spot on the league table standings, have already lost
the battle for title contention in one of the most dismal league
campaigns for years.
A real globe-trotter, the player who began his career with Pirouzi had
previous spells with Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld and England's
Charlton Athletic over the last couple of years, without really proving
his mark on European stage.
Bagheri moved to Al-Nasr of Dubai soon after being released by Charlton
Athletic, but never impressed the Emirati side.
Zamalek's German coach Otto Pfister, has long been an admirer of the
player. The Cairo giants are gearing up their efforts to foster an
already star-studded squad for next season, and are reportedly in
advanced talks to extend the contract of international pair Ibrahim and
Hossam Hassan for another two-year spell.
The Egyptian outfits, running for a league and cup double this season,
have virtually gained a berth to the second round of the African
Champions' League after trouncing Rwanda's APF 6-0 at home in Cairo,
ahead of the return leg on Sunday in Kigali, which should proved a
simple formality.
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