Houcine Ammouta has begun shaping his project at Al Ahly. The Moroccan has made a decisive call on one of the names lined up to bolster the defence this summer, slamming the door on a deal that had drawn interest inside the club.
Al Ahly's new head coach has settled his stance on signing Libya's Ali Youssef, the Nantes defender, during the current summer transfer window.
The Cairo giants appointed Ammouta to replace Denmark's Jess Thorup at the helm of the first team for a new season loaded with challenges at home and across the continent. The Egyptian League, the Egypt Cup and the CAF Confederation Cup all await.
According to Moroccan website "Le360 Sport", the 56-year-old rejected the idea of bringing in Ali Youssef to reinforce his backline this summer.
Youssef himself was keen on the move to Al Ahly, the report added. Ammouta, though, wasn't convinced and showed no appetite for pushing it through, a stance that has all but ended the Libyan's hopes of pulling on the red shirt this summer.
Ammouta arrives with a distinguished CV. He guided Morocco's home-based national team to notable success and enjoyed spells at some of the biggest clubs in the Arab world, among them Wydad of Morocco, Al Sadd of Qatar and Al Jazira of the UAE. He also managed the Jordan national team. Now comes a fresh challenge at the head of Al Ahly's technical staff.