Amr Zaki says he is loving life at Wigan as boss Steve Bruce fights to keep the on-loan striker.
Boss Bruce bids to keep striker at Latics
Amr Zaki says he is loving life at Wigan as boss Steve Bruce vows to fight to keep the striker.
On-loan Egyptian Zaki has made an impressive start to life at the JJB Stadium, scoring five times in his first seven games to alert other clubs to his talent.
Bruce has stated the Latics already have an agreement in place to make Zaki's move permanent but the club are doing all they can to make the Egyptian feel comfortable in England.
And Zaki admits he is grateful to the club for the help he has been given to settle in and has vowed to repay their faith in him.
"Wigan may be a small city but they are definitely not a small team. We play some of the best football in the league and we have superstar players like (Emile) Heskey and (Antonio) Valencia," he told
FIFA.com.
"All my efforts now are focused towards helping Wigan win matches and scoring goals for them. This is the least I can do for the team and for my manager Steve Bruce.
Success
"He always believed in me, and now it is my turn now to pay him back and meet the expectations of the Wigan fans."
After a previous loan spell turned sour for the 25-year-old, settling in quickly at Wigan has played a crucial part in his early-season success.
The striker joined Lokomotiv Moscow in 2006 but failed to settle in the Russian capital.
And Wigan were determined to avoid a repeat of Zaki's Moscow nightmare.
The Egyptian said: "I'm not very proud of the experience at Lokomotiv. I only stayed for three months and did not play a game because I suffered from homesickness and the terrible climate.
"But it is very different at Wigan. I knew what was waiting for me and I am getting all the support I need.
"The club are doing their best to make me feel comfortable and even helped bring my family to England to make me feel at home.
"I cannot even begin to describe how grateful I am to the Wigan fans, who have been just fantastic."
Boss Bruce hopes Wigan's caring approach will benefit the club and ensure they can make Zaki's loan move permanent.
He said: "We've an agreement in principle with his club. Zaki is ours now so let's just enjoy it.
"We'll try to set up a deal when the time is right but we're in pole position because he's already here."
Zaki is a doubt for the Latics' trip to Liverpool on Saturday after missing Egypt's 4-0 win over Djibouti with a torn calf muscle.
