McLeish, who has also managed English sides Birmingham City, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, takes over from Mido after the former Tottenham forward was fired two weeks ago in the wake of a 2-0 Cairo derby defeat to Al Ahli.
“We have reached an agreement with Scottish coach Alex McLeish to lead the first team,” Zamalek President Mortada Mansour told club’s website.
Mansour told local media McLeish would soon come to Egypt to sign the contract and take charge of the club.
Leaders Al Ahli may also have a new manager shortly, after local media reported Martin Jol is set to take over.
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“Of course, I would like to work in Egypt. For me, Zamalek is a big club but Al Ahli is the biggest club in the Middle East ... everyone in Europe knows that Egypt is a fantastic country so it would be nice to work in Egypt. Why not?” Jol told Egyptian website FilGoal.com.
(Reporting by Osama Khairy; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
