Emam Ashour Transfer Saga: Konyaspor's Ambition vs Al-Ahly's Resolve
Emam Ashour has become the latest fault line between Turkish ambition and Egyptian resolve.
The Al-Ahly midfielder is again in the sights of Turkish clubs, with Konyaspor now pushing hard to prise him out of Cairo. Media figure Ahmed Shobier revealed that the Super Lig side have cranked their offer up to 4 million and 250 thousand dollars after earlier, lower bids during the summer window.
From the Turkish side, the message is simple: they want him, and they want him now.
Shobier, speaking on his radio programme, outlined a sharp contrast between the two camps. Inside Al-Ahly, officials insist no official proposal has reached their desk. No document, no email, nothing they consider a formal bid. Within the Red Castle, there is a growing belief that someone is trying to stir a crisis around Ashour, to unsettle both the player and the squad at a delicate stage of pre-season.
Konyaspor, though, are adamant. Shobier relayed comments from one of the club’s board members, who insisted the offer has already been raised to 4 million and 250 thousand dollars and formally submitted. The official even urged Al-Ahly to “check their official email” to confirm that the bid has landed.
For Konyaspor, that figure is not a starting point. It is the line in the sand. The board member, again via Shobier, made clear this is their final offer to get the Ashour deal done. The word coming out of the Turkish camp is desperation: they badly want to complete the signing and are prepared to push the narrative into the public arena to do it.
A promise bigger than Salah’s party
Then came the striking flourish.
Konyaspor’s board member did not stop at numbers. He sent a message aimed straight at Egyptian ears, declaring that the club want to welcome Ashour and celebrate him “in a better way than what happened with Mohamed Salah” after the Egyptian star’s move to Trabzonspor.
That is a bold benchmark. Salah’s switch to Trabzonspor triggered huge excitement in Turkey, with a wide public reception and high-profile celebrations. Streets, social media, and stadiums buzzed around his arrival. For Konyaspor to publicly promise an even bigger reception for Ashour is a clear attempt to project status, ambition, and a sense of occasion around a player they view as a centrepiece signing.
It is also a reminder that this is not just a routine transfer chase. It is a battle for attention, for prestige, and for narrative control.
Shobier added that Konyaspor are following Ashour closely while Al-Ahly train at their camp in Spain. The Turkish club are tracking his situation in detail, including his stance on offers from the Gulf. On that front, their information is clear: Ashour has no desire to move to the Gulf at this stage of his career.
Al-Ahly dig in
On the other side, Al-Ahly’s position looks just as firm.
According to Shobier, the Cairo giants have no intention of letting their core players leave in this window, unless a “huge offer” arrives that is simply too big to reject. The club are preparing for a demanding season and are in no mood to weaken a squad built to dominate domestically and compete strongly in Africa.
Ashour is not the only name ring-fenced. Shobier listed Mostafa Shobier, Yasser Ibrahim, Mohamed Hany and Marwan Attia among the players Al-Ahly are determined to keep. The message from the board is continuity, stability, and resistance to raids on their dressing room.
So the standoff sharpens.
On one side, Konyaspor claim a final, substantial offer has been sent and await a response, promising a hero’s welcome that would rival – and even surpass – the scenes around Salah in Trabzon. On the other, Al-Ahly publicly deny receiving any official bid and close ranks around a player they see as part of their immediate future.
Somewhere between an inbox in Cairo and an outbox in Turkey, a transfer saga hangs in the balance.
