For someone who's eager to make a Premier League comeback, Amr Zaki's efforts are woefully inadequate. The 26-year-old reiterated of late that he's seriously seeking to ply his trade at the elite competition, after spending last term at Wigan Athletic on a loan basis. But apparently the Egyptian international has forgotten that behaving irresponsibly was the reason why his spell at the JJB Stadium was marred after an auspicious start to the season. Zaki produced promising displays with the Latics, but ended his adventure on a low note after repeatedly failing to report back on time from international duty and ignoring Steve Bruce's directives. The robust striker incurred the wrath of then boss Bruce, who labeled him 'the most unprofessional player he has ever worked with', not to mention more criticism from Wigan's officials. Not only did Zaki's reputation as an immature player cost him a contract extension at Wigan, but it also dissuaded a number of his suitors from approaching him last summer. Considering that he's now 'keen to make a Premiership return', the Zamalek man should be working on ditching his bad-boy image, but unfortunately that's not the case. Again Zaki came across as an unprofessional footballer when he skipped Zamalek's training for no apparent reason. After the so-called star went AWOL for quite a few days, the White Knights decided to put his name on their transfer list and sounded disgruntlement with his acts. So does Zaki have ample opportunity to return to the Premiership in the current transfer window? Not really.
Zaki stressed on several occasions that he 'learned from his mistakes at Wigan', and yet, his attitude clearly proves otherwise. The once-prolific marksman hasn't scored a single goal for Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League this season. His latest performances with the Egyptian national side were deemed average or even below-par, and he has been sidelined since November through injury. Now Zamalek, the club who's renowned for being too lenient with underachievers and undisciplined players, are fed up with Zaki's antics and want to get rid of him. So no way has he drawn the attention of any English club, and it's fair to say that his return to England is nothing more than a pipe dream. The Mansoura-born ace's future is now hanging in the balance, and his unenviable situation was a logical consequence of his persistent problems of indiscipline. He stressed on several occasions that he 'learned from his mistakes at Wigan', and yet, his attitude clearly proves otherwise. Zaki has to shape up if he wants to move back to England at some point in the future, or even to carry on his career in Egypt. He needs to genuinely change his demeanor, which has cost him dearly since last season, to regain his long-lost goal-scoring form. Zaki also has to understand that every piece of news about him in Egypt is circulated worldwide, thanks to the internet.
