The talented but temperamental 22-year-old said he lost hopes of breaking into Zamalek's starting XI under coach Hossam Hassan despite revealing his intention to stay at the club last month.

"I initially wanted to leave Zamalek in January but changed my mind after the coach said he would include me in the team's squad for the league game against (promoted) MCDR," Emam told FilGoal.com.

"He eventually left me out of the final 18-man squad although (regular right-back) Ahmed Ghanem was absent.

"This shows that he has no intention of relying on me. It's better for me to look for another club where I can play on a regular basis."

Al-Faisaly, who lie eighth in the Saudi league table, are the club Emam wishes to join in the January transfer window.

"The Saudis tabled an official offer to sign. I hope that Zamalek will accept it," he added.

He might not be granted his wish though as Zamalek's football director Ibrahim Hassan said the Cairo side intend to hold onto him.

"We will keep him. Emam just needs to concentrate on the tasks ahead of him to be able to play," Ibrahim Hassan, the twin brother of coach Hossam, said.

Emam burst onto the scene in the second half of the 2008-2009 season, when then coach Michel Decastel opted to rely on several youngsters to help the team end a dreadful run.

He produced some impressive displays to earn an Egypt call-up, with his pace and dribbling skills down the right flank causing menace to opponents.

However, continuous disciplinary problems hampered his progress despite his undoubted talent.