Tavares, 30, has been out of contract since being released by Fulham in January, despite making no appearances for the Cottagers in his short spell of three months.

The defensive midfielder was born in France but represented Senegal in 2009.

He also played for several European clubs like Hamburg, Middlesbrough, Slavia Prague and Nantes.

Ahli have been searching for a holding midfielder since losing skipper Hossam Ghaly to a long-term knee injury in last year’s Club World Cup.

The African champions have two available slots to register foreign players, with Mauritanian Dominique da Silva the only non-Egyptian on board in the meantime.