Amr Zaki’s agent has risked a public confrontation with Steve Bruce after directly contradicting the Wigan manager by stating that the striker has turned down a permanent move to The JJB Stadium and that four rival Premier League clubs have tabled firm offers.
Bruce revealed on Sunday that Zaki will not be turning his loan move from Zamalek into a permanent arrangement and claimed that the club opted against a long-term deal following Zaki’s well-publicised discipline problems this season.
The striker went AWOL following international duty with Egypt at the start of April and was subsequently described as the most unprofessional player that Bruce had ever worked with.
But Zaki’s agent has now claimed that Wigan attempted to secure a permanent deal despite the player’s behaviour and that the 26-year-old has turned down the club after they failed to match his wage demands.
"Zaki is not going to stay at Wigan for another season, but he was the one who refused to extend his deal, not vice versa," the player's personal manager Mohamed Saied told FilGoal.com.
"Zaki called on Wigan's officials to increase his wage, but they turned him down by saying there is a maximum limit for players' salaries, hence he decided to depart.
"They had talks with Zamalek over a permanent agreement, but their offer was not good enough for the Egyptian outfit.”
Zaki was linked with Manchester City in January after scoring ten goals in 16 league games in the first half of the season and his manager claims that multiple Premier League clubs are now hoping to sign him from Zamalek.
"Four Premier League clubs have made solid bids to land Zaki, they have all offered him higher wages than that he's paid at Wigan,” Saied added.
"Zaki's future will be determined after Zamalek's imminent presidential election. The new board will look into the other offers he has and accept the most suitable among them."