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Egypt want Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush to join up with them early so he can play in a friendly against Nigeria.
The Egyptian FA have held talks with Manchester City to try and convince the Blues to release Omar Marmoush earlier than expected for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Although the tournament in Morocco begins on December 21, with Egypt kicking off their campaign the following day, the Pharaohs play Nigeria in a friendly in Cairo on Sunday, December 14.
The fixture is their final warm-up match before the start of the tournament and Ibrahim Hassan, the director of the Egyptian national team, wants a full complement of players available for that match.
The date doesn't fall within FIFA's mandated window for players to be released for international duty but Hassan has confirmed he is in talks with City, as well as with Liverpool to try and make sure Marmoush and Mohamed Salah can play in the game.
It would make Marmoush unavailable for City's trip to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on December 14, with Salah missing Liverpool's match against Brighton 24 hours earlier.
"We are still in contact with Liverpool and Manchester City at the moment, regarding this matter," Hassan told winwinsports.
Marmoush could miss more than a month of action for City, and potentially as many as 10 games, with the competition running from December 21 to January 18, 2026. Egypt begin their campaign against Zimbabwe and also face South Africa and Angola in the group stages.
They will one of the favourites to win the tournament and continue preparations with a friendly against Cape Verde on Monday, with Marmoush expected to feature.
Rayan Ait-Nouri will also take part in AFCON with Algeria and Pep Guardiola was asked about their absence earlier this month.
“It is what it is. The schedule. They have this competition for their countries, they have to go," he said.
"Always I try to solve the problems when the problems are in front of me. Right now I don’t think [about it] at all. I have to use them the best from Sunday and next Wednesday and next Sunday, before the international break.
"When it’s going to happen and they cannot be here, after I will see what the situation is and we’ll take the decisions.”
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