Ibrahim Salah underwent trials at Leicester City, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion before he ended up at Gent in 2021. Prior to joining the Jupiler Pro League side, he was without a club for two years.
The forward grew up in Brussels and started his youth career at Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, where he failed to impress. He then had a few spells at other Belgian clubs.
During a period at Beerschot, they wanted to send the player out on loan to lower division Belgian side Rupel Boom. This didn’t please Ibrahim’s brother, Bilal, who took him out of the club and went to England for trials.
Before having a chance to showcase his skills at Leicester and Brentford, the 21-year-old had an experience at Brighton. Bilal now tells Het Nieuwblad they had a specific reason behind his brother’s trial with the Seagulls.
“He had no resume, no video footage. So, he trained in a college, with kids. We knew he wouldn’t get a contract with Brighton, but the idea was to get some video footage,” Bilal said.
According to Ibrahim’s brother, a move to Leicester would have materialised if not for the finances of the operation.
“They [Leicester] saw potential in him. The problem was that Leicester refused to pay a training fee to his former clubs. I believe it was about €250,000. Not obvious for a player who came from nowhere,” Bilal explained.
He detailed why the current Gent attacker didn’t end up at Brentford even though Ibrahim had impressed the Bees.
“There [at Brentford] it finally seemed to work, but there was one person in the staff who felt that he did not have the level. Well, because he was actually more than two years without a club, there was tactical work on my brother. He never played elite youth, did he,” Bilal stressed.
Ibrahim is currently with Gent’s senior team, where he has made seven appearances in the Jupiler Pro League this season.
