Al Ahly want to keep hold of Sobhi
EGYPTIAN club Al Ahly are keen to extend the loan of Huddersfield Town misfit Ramadan Sobhi - according to his agent.
The 23-year-old wingman has been with his boyhood club all season but has not played since December because of a hamstring injury.
He is now back in training, but his agent Nader Shawki says the future for the player - a £5m Town signing from Stoke City - remains unclear.
Ahramonline report Shawki as saying: “I don’t know the player’s future as the transfer market time is still unknown. Ahly chairman Mahmoud El-Khatib wants to extend Sobhi’s stay.”
Huddersfield Town boss Danny Cowley has made it clear the club can’t make any decisions on the transfer window at this stage. The club are still to confirm their Championship status in the final nine matches of the campaign, in addition to still needing to finalise a budget for the transfer window.
Sobhi has not played for the club since December 2018 and has made only four appearances.
Where the next chapter of his career unfolds remains to be seen, but Al Ahly are planning both with and without the player.
“Ahly wants to secure a replacement for Sobhi in case the player decides to leave, so the Reds’ management are in talks to sign Arab Contractors winger Taher Mohamed,” Shawki said.
“If Sobhi decides to stay at Ahly, the management can work with the duo, as happened in the Olympic national team.”
IT will be back to the future for boss Danny Cowley when Town take on Wigan Athletic today.
In his first season of Championship management, the Terriers boss has encountered all sorts of new experiences on the touchline.
Playing in an empty stadium or to a very small crowd - is not one of them, however.
Asked how he will cope with so few people being around the touchline and relaying messages to the pitch at the John Smith’s Stadium this afternoon, Cowley was quick to remember the very beginnings of his managerial career.
“When Nicky and I started and Nicky would be playing at
Leeds
West Brom Fulham Brentford Nottm Forest Preston Bristol City Millwall Cardiff Blackburn Swansea Derby
QPR
Reading Sheff Wed Birmingham Stoke
L F A Pts 8 56 30 71 5 64 37 70 9 52 38 64 11 64 33 60 9 48 38 60 13 50 45 56 12 51 53 55 9 44 40 54 9 52 50 54 12 52 45 53 10 46 45 53 12 49 49 51 15 58 62 50 15 46 42 48 15 46 49 48 14 48 57 47 19 49 55 42 the time - it was Concord Rangers versus Sawbridgeworth in my first ever game as a manager and there were 67 people there,” recalled Cowley, now 41 and a veteran of the lower leagues.
“So it’s not that unfamiliar to me. I actually loved Concord Rangers because it allowed me to get my message across to the players really easily during a game.
“Sometimes it was tough on a Tuesday night, if I had been teaching all day and shouting at children, then having to go and shout at footballers, it was tough on the voice, but this situation is not that unusual for us.
“We have to drive the energy of the players, and the players have a responsibility to drive their energy.
“We are missing the supporters already and we would love them to be with us but, if they can’t, then we are going to try to see the advantage in it and, getting a message across more clearly, might be one of those advantages.”
Cowley says he has tried to make the most of the longest build-up to a game he has ever had due to the coronavirus pandemic, and he’s tried to get the players used to empty stands by playing friendlies against Sheffield United, Hull City and Middlesbrough at stadiums behind closed doors.
“It’s different, and when things are different you try and create as much familiarity as you can,” he explained.
“We all know the power of our supporters both home and away - they have been magnificent and we haven’t always given them as much to cheer as I would like, but they have still been with us every step of the