No Sirino, no Lorch, but Mosimane wants South Africa-based player at Al Ahly

Al Ahly head coach Pitso Mosimane has stated that his Egyptian Premier League club will sign a player based in South Africa.

The Red Devils have not added a new player to their ranks in the transfer window yet but Mosimane has said he is almost sure of getting one star from his home country.

However, he was quick to deny that Thembinkosi Lorch and Gaston Sirino were his targets, and also rejected suggestions that a player from his former club, Mamelodi Sundowns, was on his way.

Not Lorch or Sirino

"There’s a player that will come from South Africa," Mosimane told SAFM as was quoted by iDiski Times.

"It’s not Lorch or Sirino but the player will come. He’s not from my former team [Mamelodi Sundowns] because I don’t want to touch those players because they take me to court.

"I’d like a South African player to come here, but I don’t want to ruffle feathers. I want to do it the right way. You know what happened with Sirino.

"They said I’m stripping my former team, even though Ahly wanted him before I came here."

Previously, Al Ahly had expressed their interest in signing Mamelodi Sundowns' Sirino, but their $5 million offer was rejected.

 The Uruguayan star had recently made his desire to join Mosimane at Al Ahly known.

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"Why Al Ahly? Because it is one of the best clubs on the continent and in the world, and they have a great history, and they perform well in all the tournaments they enter," revealed the 30-year-old midfielder.

Last week, Mosimane led Al Ahly to their 10th Caf Champions League title after beating Premier Soccer League side Kaizer Chiefs in what turned out to be a one-sided final.

Meanwhile, Al Ahly are set for stiff competition in their rumoured interest in Raja Casablanca's Soufiane Rahimi, as Emirati giants Al-Ain have reportedly entered into the race to acquire the services of the player.

According to KingFut, the Egyptian side had tabled an offer of $2 million for Rahimi but his club demanded $3 million in order to allow negotiations over a potential transfer to begin.

Apart from Al Ahly and Al-Ain, RC Strasbourg of France had also reportedly shown interest and had submitted an offer of their own.