West Brom decide not to sign Egyptian defender Ali Gabr permanently

The Baggies brought Gabr in on loan from Zamalek in January for £438,000 – and included in the deal was an option to buy him for £1.1m this summer.

Gabr didn’t play a minute for the senior team during his half-season at The Hawthorns, and only featured twice for the under-23s.

Before making sure of their decision, the Baggies sent first team coach James Shan to watch Gabr in action for the Pharoahs in their World Cup warm-up friendly with Belgium in Brussels.

The 29-year-old plays alongside Albion defender Ahmed Hegazi at the heart of the Egypt defence.

However, the Baggies have remain unconvinced and decided not to sign him permanently ahead of the upcoming season.

They are unable to change their decision because the activation date in the agreement passed this week.

Hegazi initially joined on loan from Al Ahly last summer but his deal was made permanent for £4.5m in December.

Egypt are playing Uruguay in Group A of the World Cup today with both Gabr and Hegazi starting.