goal scorers list with 5 goals in 6 games. He followed it with two more goals against Liverpool, further solidifying his position as top scorer in the English Premier League. He also scored penalties in 2–1 victories over Portsmouth and Newcastle. At one point he was the third top scorer in the Premier League behind Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka and Manchester City's Robinho who had 15 and 12 respectively to Zaki's 10, however he failed to add to that tally in which Anelka finished top with 19. Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan likened Zaki to Alan Shearer, saying "when you look at this lad and his build... He has the same confidence when he gets the ball, he knows where the goal is, he doesn't need to look up, he has this instinct. Strikers like that have an instinct as to where the goal is. You can't describe it, you can't give it to anybody. Former Wigan manager Steve Bruce has also been highly impressed with Zaki, and has told the press he believes he is "awesome". Bruce said "he put in a fantastic performance. If he keeps playing like that he is going to have a real future in the Premier League" and "his physique is great, he has awesome power and pace and of course he wants to score goals which is the important thing". Controversy In April 2009, Zaki failed to return to Wigan Athletic from one of Egypt's World Cup qualification matches, leading his former-club manager, Steve Bruce, to label him 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 has done on more than one occasion; "Before this latest incident, Zaki had already been fined considerably more than the average person in Britain earns in a year and he will now face another heavy fine". However, Bruce said that repeatedly fining him does not seem to alter his poor behaviour. Bruce subsequently confirmed on 17 May 2009 that the club will not be taking up the option of making his loan deal permanent. Return to Zamalek Zaki returned to Egyptian Premier League side El Zamalek for the 2009–10 season. During the summer transfer window he turned down a move to English Premier League club Portsmouth, which had been strongly linked with the