Portsmouth bid for Zaki rejected

Zaki had an excellent spell with Wigan at the start of last season (GETTY IMAGES)

Portsmouth's attempts to bring Amr Zaki back to England have failed after a bid was rejected by his club, Zamalek.

The Egypt striker made a huge impact during the early part of last season playing on-loan at Wigan, where he scored 10 goals, before injuries and a lack of discipline led to a return to his homeland.

The south coast club, currently bottom of the Barclays Premier League table after four defeats in as many games, were keen to bring in Zaki, and, according to his agent, offered three different alternatives to a possible deal.

"Portsmouth have made an official bid for Zaki, but Zamalek said they wanted to keep him and rejected any possibility of his exit," Nader Shawki told www.filgoal.com.

"Portsmouth offered three different solutions for Zamalek to get Zaki.

"They offered £3million or £2.5million plus 50% of the next sale to buy him permanently. They also made a £500,000 loan offer, but Zamalek aren't ready to sell."

According to Shawki, Zamalek convinced the 26-year-old to stay and new chairman Mamdouh Abbas has high ambitions for the new season.