Omar Khedr Ismail Ahmed Hamdin (Arabic: عمر خضر; born 25 May 2006) is an Egyptian footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Aston Villa.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Omar Khedr Ismail Ahmed Hamdin[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 May 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Alexandria, Egypt | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Aston Villa | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Embercap Club | |||
| 2015–2021 | Zamalek | ||
| 2022–2024 | ZED | ||
| 2024– | Aston Villa | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021– | Egypt U17 | 11 | (3) |
| 2023– | Egypt U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2024– | Egypt U23 | 3 | (0) |
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 May 2024 | |||
Khedr is a product of the ZED and Zamalek academies. He joined Aston Villa in July 2024. Khedr has represented Egypt regularly at youth international level, most recently at U23 level, debuting aged seventeen.
Club career
editEarly career
editBorn in the Alexandria Governorate, Khedr began his career with the academy of Embercap Club, before going on to trial with Haras El Hodoud at the age of nine.[2] He impressed at the trial, catching the attention of Egyptian Premier League side Zamalek, whom he would go on to join.[2][3] He would travel to Cairo from Alexandria after school to train with the club, before eventually moving to the city.[3] In January 2022 he completed a transfer to Egyptian Second Division side ZED, with the clubs agreeing on a compensation fee of roughly £100,000.[3]
In January 2023, Khedr, alongside teammates Mohamed Negm and Marwan Mahmoud, went on trial with Portuguese side Vitória de Guimarães, with Khedr scoring in a 2–2 friendly game against the youth team of Vitória.[4] Later in the same year, he was named as the best player in a youth tournament, where he played against English side Aston Villa, part of the tripartite partnership between themselves, ZED and Vitória de Guimarães, and he went on to trial with the Birmingham-based side.[5]
Despite reports in Portugal stating that he was set to join Vitória de Guimarães, in June 2023 head of ZED youth sector, Alaa Nabil, stated that he would instead be joining Aston Villa.[2]
Aston Villa
editOn 14 August 2023, Aston Villa confirmed that Khedr would join them on 1 July 2024, after turning eighteen.[6] Seif Zaher, CEO of ZED club claimed that Khedr's former club, Zamalek, would receive a fee for the deal.[7] The fee was reported to be €2.76 million, making Khedr the most expensive Egyptian teenage player ever.[8] Khedr officially joined Villa in the summer of 2024 as planned, joining the U21 squad.
International career
editKhedr has represented Egypt at multiple youth levels.[9] On 20 January 2024, Khedr made his debut for Egypt U23s, aged 17, in a 1–0 friendly defeat to Iraq.[10]
References
edit- ^ "2024/25 Premier League squad lists". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
- ^ a b c ""عمر خضر" راح أستون فيلا الإنجليزي: الزمالك سابه بـ 4 مليون" [“Omar Khadr” went to the English Aston Villa: Zamalek left him with 4 million]. elbashayer.com (in Arabic). 2 July 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "المعجزة المصرية.. قصة عمر خضر ناشئ الزمالك الذي اقترب من الانتقال لـ فيتوريا جيماريش" [The Egyptian miracle.. The story of Omar Khadr, a youngster from Zamalek, who was close to moving to Vitoria Guimaraes]. koraplus.com (in Arabic). 11 April 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "نادي "زد" يسوق لاعبيه في البرتغال" [Club “Z” markets its players in Portugal]. tatweeg.news (in Arabic). 5 January 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ Casaca, Manuel (11 April 2023). "Prodígio egípcio a caminho do V. Guimarães" [Egyptian prodigy on the way to V. Guimarães]. ojogo.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Villa sign Egyptian talent Khedr". avfc.co.uk. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "سيف زاهر يكشف حصول الزمالك على أموال من صفقة انتقال عمر خضر لـ أستون فيلا" [Saif Zaher reveals that Zamalek got money from Omar Khadr’s transfer to Aston Villa]. almasryalyoum.com (in Arabic). 27 June 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ Ehab, Yassin (2024-08-05). "Omar Khedr scores first Aston Villa goal". KingFut. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
- ^ Chapman, Joseph (14 August 2023). "Aston Villa complete fourth transfer of summer window as winger signs long-term deal". birminghammail.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "المنتخب الأولمبى يخسر أمام العراق 1 / 0 فى دورة دبى الودية" [Egypt Olympic team lose to Iraq 1–0 in friendly match in Dubai]. اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-05-06.