Ange Postecoglou doesn't hang around in the transfer market and after tying two deals up for January already, it seems Mohamed "Afsha" Magdy could be Celtic 's next port of call with reports of initial contact being made for the Egyptian.
The Hoops are flying high at the top of the Premiership and their nine-point lead looks nearly insurmountable even with a new manager in place across the city at Rangers. But the Parkhead club know more than anyone the danger of sitting still and have already secured Alistair Johnston as their potential replacement for Josip Juranovic as well as another defensive reinforcement in Yuki Kobayashi.
While talks are seemingly ongoing for South Korean World Cup star Cho Gue-sun, who could be the man to replace Giorgos Giakoumakis, it's also reported that Al-Ahly playmaker Magdy could be on his way to Celtic Park. Football Scotland report that initial contact has been made over the 26-year-old, who has won almost everything there is to win on Egypt and could be in line to test himself in Europe after three trophy-laden years. But who is he, and what will Celtic be getting if they sign him? Record Sport has everything you need to know.
Who is he?
As a child, Magdy would carry a ball with him everywhere and was even known to sleep beside it. This earned him the nickname "Afsha" - an Arabic word meaning "love" or "beauty" - which he still goes by today.
A creative midfield player, Afsha will go down in Al-Ahly folklore for his contributions since joining from Pyramids in 2019. Among his 29 goals for the club was the famous strike against bitter rivals Zamalek that won them the 2020 African Champions League, and he built on that with a stunning 12 months that saw him linked with a number of clubs in Europe. Al-Ahly reportedly knocked back an approach from Sivasspor and Afsha declared at the time he would be happy to stay at the club "for the rest of his life."
Still, while he's yet to score in his six appearances this season, Afsha has netted double figures in his last two campaigns and those numbers rarely go unnoticed in Europe. His club recently placed a price tag of $5million (£4.15m) on his head, despite manager Marcel Koller declaring he's not for sale. Any offer in that region from Celtic would be accepted, and after winning the Asian Champions League twice, the chance to try his luck in Europe would prove tempting.
Rogic replacement?
While Celtic have barely missed a beat this season, the lack of a clear replacement for Tom Rogic has been apparent at times. Aaron Mooy has stepped in and provided another midfield option but Rogic was the PFA Scotland Player of the Year and while results haven't reflected it, his creative presence has been missed.
That's likely why Afsha is on the agenda. Comparing his 2021/22 period to Rogic's, it's clear he's a similar kind of player, though not quite as direct. He averaged 0.43 goal involvements per game to Rogic's 0.33, racked up more shots on target, more key passes and had 85 per cent pass completion to Rogic's 80.
The trade-off for his creative dynamism within the Al-Ahly system though is that he doesn't do as much work off the ball as Rogic was expected to for Celtic. While he posted up marginally better numbers for ball recoveries, 1.39 per 90 to Rogic's 1.23, fewer of those were in the opponent's half, while he also averaged substantially fewer challenges per game (8 to Rogic's 12) even if the success rate was almost identical at 42 per cent.
As far as being a Postecoglou player goes, then, he's not quite the finished article. But he has all the talent and if he can adapt his game to complement the likes of Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate - as Rogic did last season to become one of their best players - then it could well work out.
'Brothers' with Mohamed Salah
Afsha has something of a complicated history with Egypt captain Mohamed Salah, and sparked fury this time last year when he appeared to suggest the Liverpool star wasn't as "skillful" as some of his peers on the world stage. But he later backtracked those comments, admitting Salah was "the best player in the world" - and insisting the two are "like brothers."
He said: “I didn’t say that Salah is not skillful, I said that he is a legend, humble and diligent, and he reached a position that is impossible for an Egyptian player to reach, but he doesn’t have the talent Messi, Isco, or Kroos. But who am I to evaluate Mohamed Salah. At the present time, Mohamed Salah is the best player in the world, and God granted him his talent in his speed, unlike Messi in his skill. Salah was not saddened by my statement, as he is like my brother."
You can see that synergy whenever the two link up for Egypt with Salah brilliantly setting him up for a strike against Kenya last March. Afsha followed that up days later with an assist for Salah against Comoros, one of three the playmaker notched in that game.
What has he said about his future?
Shy and humble by nature, Afsha tends to do his talking on the pitch and swerves controversy wherever possible. Speaking last year, he did admit that money and trophies will be a factor in where he goes next - if he ever decides to leave Cairo - but says doing his family proud is his top priority.
“I hope that I will remain at Al Ahly for my whole life. If it’s possible to remain my whole life there, then I’ll do it," he said. I will never ask to leave Al Ahly, no matter the offer, as it’s between the club and my agent. Trophies, of course (are important), they are history. Money is definitely important, but what I want is my family to be proud of me.”
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