Egyptian midfielder Hossam Ghaly will not participate in the ACN with the rest of Egypt squad. The Egyptian will head to England instead in order to complete his loan move to Derby County.

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Hossam Ghaly have chosen to pursue a move back to the English Premier League instead of going to Ghana with the national team.

As the move from Tottenham Hotspur to Derby County is at an advanced stage, with Derby manager Paul Jewell expressing his interest in Ghaly, the midfielder needs to show full commitment to his new manager in order to complete the deal.

“Ghaly told us that he will not be able to play in Ghana because he needs to secure his move to Derby County,” the president of the Egyptian FA, Sameer Zaher, told BBC Sport.

“We understood his situation, especially as it will be too late for him to find another club after the Nations Cup due to the closure of the transfer window at end of January.”

As EP reported earlier today, the initial application for a work permit for Ghaly was turned down and it seems that Derby manager Jewell already expects a delay in completing the transfer as it is likely the club will have to have to appeal in order to get the player a work permit.

“We've contacted Tottenham and spoken to the player and he's keen to come but we might have to go to a work permit appeal,” Jewell told BBC Radio Derby.