Former Feyenoord man Ekrami returned to his boyhood club Ahli after ending a short spell with Gouna but he is yet to win over the fans and coach Hossam Al-Badri.

Second-choice keeper Ahmed Adel put in some promising displays earlier in the season but he still failed to prove that he was the ideal replacement for Al-Hadari.

Egypt guardian Al-Hadari, who is now playing for Ahli's bitter rivals Ismaili, left the Red Devils without their consent to join Swiss side Sion two years ago.

He has recently expressed his deep regret at violating his Ahli contract and pleaded with the Red Devils to re-sign him.

Bringing back Al-Hadari to Cairo is not an option for the Egyptian champions, who turned their attention to Mansoura's highly-rated goalie Mahmoud Aboul-Saoud

"Ahli have contacted Mansoura over the possibility of signing me," the 22-year-old told FilGoal.com on Sunday.

"I want to join them and make history, but Mansoura should accept Ahli's offer first."

Mansoura were relegated to the second division after just one season in the top flight, but Aboul-Saoud could hardly take any blame for their poor run.

He was lauded for a string of impressive displays which prompted Egypt coach Hassan Shehata to include him in the team's squad for the African Cup of Nations.

He was the Pharaohs' third-choice keeper in the tournament behind Al-Hadari and Zamalek's Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed.

"We want to sign Aboul-Saoud. We are going through the legal channels to sign him in the summer transfer window," Ahli's football director Hadi Khashaba said.