Mohamed Elneny to Arsenal: Gunners have until noon Friday if they want midfielder to play Stoke

Elneny is still held up by paperwork

Tom Sheen
Wednesday 13 January 2016 09:30 GMT
Comments
Mohamed Elneny in action for Basel
Mohamed Elneny in action for Basel (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Arsenal have until noon on Friday if they want midfielder Mohamed Elneny to be available for the match at Stoke City on Sunday.

Premier League rules state that a player must be fully registered with a club by 12pm on the last working day.

The rule saw Liverpool rush through the loan move for Steven Caulker on Tuesday, so that the Queen's Park Rangers defender would be available for the match at Anfield tonight, if needed.

​Elneny will not be available for Arsenal despite the Egyptian midfielder already having completed a medical ahead of his proposed £7million move.

The 23-year-old has been close to a move to north London from Basel for almost two weeks, but the move has been held back due to visa issues.

Elneny has a work permit, but the decision on a Tier 2 (Sportsperson) visa can take up to three weeks.

Arsenal do not expect a decision to take that long but the Gunners had wanted the move done last week so he could make his debut in the FA Cup win against Sunderland.

"I expect movement this week," Wenger said on Monday. "We are positive this week that it can happen.

"The situation should be sorted out this week as there are a lot of work permit problems as well and special paperwork to do such as his visa."

Arsenal play Stoke on Sunday, host Chelsea on 24 January and then Burnley in the FA Cup fourth round.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in