Malian midfielder Aliou Dieng has left Cairo to complete a move to Saudi team Al-Kholood after both teams reached an agreement over a loan deal.
Dieng flew to Turkey on Monday morning to join Al-Kholood’s pre-season camp, forcing Al Ahly boss Marcel Koller to drop him out of the squad against Al Masry.
The premature departure led Koller to cut Marwan Ateya’s honeymoon break, just hours after his wedding, due to Amr El-Sulya’s injury alongside Kouka’s presence at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Aliou Dieng leaves Al Ahly after five years, which saw him make 212 appearances in which he scored seven goals and assisted 11 while claiming 15 titles as well as three Club World Cup bronze medals.
The loan will run until the end of the season and have cost the Saudi club just above €500,000, making Dieng the club’s most expensive signing of the current summer so far.
Al-Kholood earned promotion to the Saudi Pro League first the first time in the club’s history after finishing third in the First Divison last season and they want to reinforce their squad ahead of a historic season.
Coached by former Burkina Faso and Gabon boss Paulo Duarte, the club has already made a couple of signings, most notably Ittihad Jeddah’s Brazilian keeper Marcelo Grohe, Al-Hilal’s defender Mohammed Jahfali, and Slovak international Norbert Gyömbér.
Club president Mohamed Al Khalifa also said that his club is interested in other Egyptian Premier League players, namely Zamalek’s Ahmed Sayed Zizo and Mahmoud Kahraba of Al Ahly.