Emad Meteb has reached an out-of-court settlement with Standard Liege and will rejoin Ahli in the winter, according to agent Nader Shawki. The Egypt striker will pay €0.5 million, the sum in the release clause of his contract with the Belgian side, in order to go free. Shawki has also confirmed that Meteb will return to Ahli in January; a move that was suggested by Egyptian media a while back. "Meteb agreed to pay Standard €0.5 million, which is the sum in the release clause of his contract with them," he told FilGoal.com. "After solving this problem, Meteb will get back to Ahli in the January transfer window." Meteb has incurred the wrath of Standard upon deciding not to honor the contract he signed with them after leaving Ahli in the close season. The 27-year-old said he had no option but to back out of the deal in order to fulfill his compulsory military service in Egypt, an excuse that was deemed feeble by Standard and local media. Belgian reports recently said that Standard had decided to take the case to world governing body (FIFA). However, Shawki has insisted there is a plan to 'sort things out in a friendly manner'. No Zamalek offer Furthermore, Shawki refuted reports linking his client with a move to Ahli's arch-rivals Zamalek. "If these reports are correct, then why Meteb have to pay Standard €0.5 million?" he explained. "In addition to this, he doesn't want to play in Egypt except for Ahli." Meteb's only adventure outside his boyhood club Ahli was a year-long loan stint with Ittihad Jeddah in the 2008-2009 season. He came too close to joining English minnows Bristol City in the summer of 2008. Nonetheless, the deal fell through when the beleaguered player featured in Ahli's Champions League win over Zamalek as his participation was perceived to be a breach of contract. It is widely believed that Meteb is not likely to be approached by foreign clubs any time soon, thanks to the controversial collapse of his deal with Standard. The infamous transfer saga also cost him his place in Egypt's squad. Egypt coach Hassan Shehata voiced his dissatisfaction over his favorite marksman's acts and dropped him from the 6-3 friendly defeat of DR Congo almost a fortnight ago.
