Paul Jewell has admitted he may struggle to keep Hossam Ghaly following Derby's relegation.
Derby boss expecting fight to keep Egyptian
Paul Jewell has admitted he may struggle to keep Hossam Ghaly following Derby's relegation to the Championship.
The Egyptian midfielder joined The Rams from Tottenham in January on a loan deal until the end of the season.
He has not been able to keep Derby in the Premier League, but Jewell has been impressed by some of his recent performances.
The Derby boss is planning to hold talks with Ghaly over the possibility of a permanent move to Pride Park, but accepts that he could face competition from a number of top-flight clubs.
"If Hossam shows the quality he has in the last few games he is a Premier League footballer really, so we might find it difficult to hold on to him," Jewell conceded.
"I think there's a lot more to come from him. I've spoken to Hossam at length telling him he should get more goals with his quality, and we would like to keep him.
"It's something we haven't spoken about yet but it's something we will approach in the near future."
