But Bruce is virtually resigned to losing
his battle to sign Ghaly's club and country team-mate
Mido, rating his chances as 'less than 50-50.'
Ghaly was in Birmingham on Saturday to tie up his move
and, although further talks are planned, Bruce is optimistic
the Egypt international will become his eighth signing
of the summer.
Bruce said: 'We are still in talks with Hossam and we
hope that, by Monday, he will be added to the squad
all being well.
'I let one midfielder go in Stephen Clemence and that
was a tough decision. If Ghaly is as good as Clemence
was in his five years here then I'll be delighted.'
On Mido, Bruce said: 'The deal looks a bit off. It's
to do with different clauses. I can't say more as that
would not be fair on the player.
'It's fair to say our chances are less than 50-50. We still
hope we can pull it off but it's noting to do with finances.'
Bruce added: 'I'd look for another striker if one was available
but it's whether you can get one. We have four weeks before
the window closes and last year we did our best bit of business
just before the start of the season.'
Bruce has been linked with Middlesbrough striker Aiyegbeni
Yakubu but his agent Barry Silkman believes the player would
be out of Birmingham's price range at more than £10million.
EP will bring more updates as the story develops..
