"We wrapped up his deal," Al-Badri told reporters following Ahli's 1-0 Egyptian Premier League victory over Gouna without giving further details.

Ekrami was kept on the bench against Ahli, making way for stand-in goalie Essam Mahmoud who committed some fatal mistakes at Cairo Stadium.

Al-Badri will be hoping that Ekrami, who came through Ahli's youth ranks before joining Dutch side Feyenoord, will finally make Essam Al-Hadari's absence unfelt.

Egypt keeper Al-Hadari unilaterally terminated his contract with Ahli to join Swiss side Sion in February 2008.

Later on, Amir Abdul-Hamid, who now seems close to leaving the club, became the first choice for a while but was incessantly criticized for his patchy displays.

Former Ahli coach Manuel Jose then relied on Ramzi Saleh in the latter stages of last season, but the Palestinian guardian was hardly convincing.

Ahmed Adel, who used to be a third-choice keeper, is now the regular starter for Ahli. He will seemingly have to compete with Ekrami for a starting spot.