Rangers held talks with Egypt starlet Ibrahim Adel before the window closed and may have to stump up around £4.5 million if they are to renew their interest in January.
Reports suggesting that none other than Mohamed Salah has advised Liverpool to take a closer look at 22-year-old Ibrahim Adel is quite the compliment. If Salah is the king of Egyptian football, then Adel is the young prince, waiting to inherit the throne.
A left-winger who likes to cut in onto his right – unlike the right-sided, left-footed Salah – Adel’s electrifying displays for club and country mean it feels like a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ he follows in the footsteps of the Liverpool talisman with a move to Europe.
According to Fabrizio Romano, there is interest from clubs in Belgium and Denmark. TEAMtalk add that (deep breath) Chelsea, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, West Ham, Burnley and Brighton and Hove Albion have all been keeping tabs on the silky wideman too, though it was Rangers who came closest to luring Adel away from current employers Pyramids FC before the summer window closed a fortnight ago.
Rangers like Pyramids FC star Ibrahim Adel
Rangers, the report claims, held talks but ran out of time to complete a deal. Should Mick Beale’s side renew their interest in the New Year, they will likely have to part with a fee in the region of £4.5 million, per Egyptian publication King Fut.
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That could still be a bargain, however, for a player recently named the Player of the Tournament at the recent U23 Afircan Cup of Nations, pipping former Barcelona whizzkid Abde Ezzalzouli to the post.
“Ibrahim Adel is a huge talent for us and for Egyptian football,” says Pyramids FC director of football Mahmoud Fathallah, via King Fut.
Rangers may be back
Whether or not Rangers come calling again in January may depend on whether Rabbi Matondo can add some much-needed end-product to his pace and trickery. Or whether Abdallah Sima can rediscover the form that made him such a coveted talent at Slavia Prague.
Beale did admit recently that he wanted a Ryan Kent-style winger at Ibrox. Cutting in from the left-hand side, Adel could certainly perform a similar role to the one Kent played in Rangers blue.