Director responds when asked about interest in £25k-a-week Aston Villa man amid rumours

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Aston Villa full-back Ahmed Elmohamady is likely to leave the club at the end of the season, having become surplus to Dean Smith’s requirements and with his contract expiring in the summer.

The 33-year-old joined the Villans from Hull City in 2017, helping them secure promotion to the Premier League in 2019 after defeating Derby County 2-1 in the Championship playoff final.

He has done well at Villa Park in the last few years and has become something of a fan favourite thanks to his reliability, attitude and versatility.

Elmohamady signed a contract extension last year which is up at the end of the season, but with Matty Cash’s arrival from Nottingham Forest, he has fallen further down the pecking order.

The Egypt international has made just five Premier League appearances this season with Villa, starting once, as well as playing the full 90 minutes in their one League Cup game this term.

He has been linked with a return to Egypt through African champions Al Ahly, but director of football Sayed Abdel-Hafiz has denied such interest when asked about it by Kingfut.

“With all due respect to Ahmed Elmohamdy’s abilities and stature, but nothing was discussed about him,” he said.

“(Manager) Pitso Mosimane is continuing with his style and the characters he wants to deal with.

“There is a rule at Al Ahly. The requests of the head coach are the only thing we are trying to achieve.”

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While Elmohamady has been good for Villa over the years, it remains to be seen whether he’ll leave this month or wait until departing on a free transfer.

It’ll most likely be the latter – the £25,000-a-week ace revealed earlier in the season he had offers to move elsewhere last year but chose to stay with Dean Smith’s side, showing commitment to Villa.