Mohamed Elneny is attracting interest from Turkey and Saudi Arabia as he prepares to feature at the Africa Cup of Nations, according to reports.
Alex Crook of talkSPORT has confirmed to GiveMeSport that there’s interest in Mohamed Elneny from Turkey and Saudi Arabia, with Arsenal needing to sell players on before they can make signings this month.
Elneny isn’t the only player with interest in him this month, but it seems like he has the most substantial rumours surrounding him at the moment.
Fabrizio Romano had already reported on concrete interest from Trabzonspor at the end of December, adding that Besiktas, Galatasaray, and Saudi Arabian clubs were all exploring the potential conditions of a move.
For the time being, Elneny will be focusing on the Africa Cup of Nations and his participation with Egypt, which begins on Sunday afternoon.
Egypt are in Group B alongside Ghana, Cape Verde, and Mozambique, playing fixtures as follows (times in GMT):
- Sunday, 14th January, 17:00 – Egypt vs Mozambique
- Thursday, 18th January, 20:00 – Egypt vs Ghana
- Monday, 22nd January, 20:00 – Cape Verde vs Egypt
But if Elneny wants to complete a January transfer and Egypt progress through the competition, he’ll have to juggle both matches and transfer negotiations.
The AFCON round-of-16 matches take place from January 27th to January 30th, the quarter-finals take place on February 2nd and 3rd, the semi-finals on February 7th, and the final on February 11th.
There’s also a third-place play-off on February 10th, so progression to the semi-finals guarantees you’ll remain at the tournament at least until then.
With the Saudi Arabian transfer window closing at the end of January and the Turkish league on February 9th, Egypt’s hypothetical progression to the semi-finals would put Elneny beyond both deadlines.
Elneny has a contract with Arsenal lasting until the summer, at which point he’d be available on a free transfer.