£1.5m Wigan Athletic signing likened to Alan Shearer will hold bittersweet memories: View | OneFootball

The phrase 'streets won't forget' is often thrown around when concerning players who were among the elite entertainers during their playing career, and you could argue a lot of them played for Wigan Athletic.

While names such as Michu from his time at Swansea City and Newcastle United's Hatem Ben Arfa will be constantly mentioned, the Latics side during the 2008/09 season contained some of the most talented footballers the club had ever seen grace the hallowed DW Stadium turf.

Steve Bruce would see Antonio Valencia and Wilson Palacios depart for pastures new in the summer, but would welcome the likes of Lee Cattermole, Olivier Kapo and Daniel de Ridder to the club, with the addition of Egyptian striker, Amr Zaki, proving to be one of the best pieces of business the club achieved that season.

Amr Zaki signs for Wigan Athletic

The Latics were able to complete a one-year loan deal to bring Zaki to Wigan in the summer of 2008, with his arrival causing excitement among supporters.

Despite being relatively unknown around the North West of England, the club had just completed the signing of the 'World's Best Striker', according to FIFA's ranking system, having scored 22 goals in 55 games for his former club Al Zamalek.

Zaki was named the Egyptian Player of the Year prior to his move to Wigan, and arrived donning the nicknames "Bulldozer" and the "Egyptian Gladiator", owing to his powerful and physical striking displays.

Zaki would produce one of the best debut seasons in the Premier League

Having scored two goals in two pre-season friendlies, Zaki was unleashed on Premier League defences in August, with West Ham the unfortunate recipients of his maiden appearance in England's top flight, producing a fine finish on his league debut.

The striker would score his first brace in a 5-0 rout away to Hull City two weeks later, before adding his fourth goal in as many games against Sunderland, putting him alongside Jermaine Defoe as the top scorer in the division.

He would add to his tally from the penalty spot against Manchester City, before producing arguably the performance of the season at Anfield. Having already given his side the lead on Merseyside before Dirk Kuyt's leveller, the Egyptian produced a stunning acrobatic effort in front of the Kop, with Liverpool supporters watching on in sheer amazement of what they had just witnessed.

He would add to his tally in a victory over Portsmouth, before missing three fixtures with illness. Zaki would take his tally to 11 goals upon his return with strikes against Newcastle United and Bolton Wanderers, but would fail to score in his final 13 appearances, as the Latics just missed out on a place in the top half of the Premier League table.

Former chairman, Dave Whelan, likened Zaki to Alan Shearer following his exploits in his maiden Premier League campaign, and he looked a shrewd signing for a reported £1.5 million.

The Egyptian had endeared himself to the Wigan fans, and along with the January arrivals of Charles N'Zogbia, Hugo Rodallega, Maynor Figueroa and Mido, Bruce had built the ultimate 'streets won't forget' side, with many excited as to what Zaki and Wigan could do the following season. However, an incident in April would bring an end to the Egyptian's time at the DW Stadium.

Zaki's time at the DW Stadium ended in bittersweet fashion

In April of the 2008/09 season, Zaki failed to return to Wigan from one of Egypt's World Cup qualification matches, with Bruce labeling the striker as the most unprofessional player he had ever worked with.

His late returns from international duty led to Bruce publicly branding Zaki "highly unprofessional" and fining him the maximum amount permitted, which he had done on more than one occasion throughout the season.

Zaki's fines had accumulated to such an extreme amount that Bruce admitted that after their 2-0 defeat to Stoke City in the penultimate game of the season that the club would not be taking up the option of making his loan deal permanent, with Zaki returning to Zamalek.

It would end a sensational year for the Egyptian in his maiden season in the Premier League, returning to England six months later on a five-month loan with Hull City, but he was unable to hit the heights of his spell with the Latics, failing to score in his six appearances for the Tigers before returning to Egypt.

While his time in Wigan had a sour ending, Zaki will be remembered fondly among the Latics supporters, with his name a constant when discussing players that 'the streets won't forget'.