Saudi dealmakers are unperturbed by the winter exjin88bet.oneit of Jordan Henderson to Ajax and don’t feel his departure is damaging to thejin88bet.one long-term project.
jin88bet.onejin88bet.onejin88bet.onejin88bet.one
There is a planned league-wide spend of around £2bn for this summer, inclusive of transfer fees, wages and agent costs.
Sajin88bet.oneudi clubs spent £750m on transfer fees last summer and this number is likely to be surpassed if certain star names are secured.
ak168app.clubak168app.babyak168app.baby
The two most high-profile targets are Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
De Bruyne’s camp have already been approached with both Riyadh-based clubs, Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal, expressing an interest.ak168app.baby De Bruyne is contracted until 2025 and Manchester City would expect a fee oak168app.babyak168app.babyf over £100m should they entertainak168app.baby an offer. It is still understood Pep Guardiola wants De Bruyne to extend.
ic88ic88ic88ks168app.siteic88ic88ic88ic88ic88Salah was the subject of a £150m bid from Saudi champions Al-Ittihad last summer with a view to signic88ic88ing him in time for last December’s Club World Cup. He remains a target, but Salah is settled at Liverpool so a move is by no means guaranteed this summer. The feeling is Salahic88 will eventually go to Saudi, but summer 2024 isn’t a given.
It is likely Al-Hilal will try this summer, though, having had Salah on their wishlist lic88ic88ast summer as well. They are on course to win the Saudi Pro League and are expic88ic88ected to be given priority ahead of Al-Ittihic88ad.
Liverpool’s Thiago Alcantara is another name several Saudi clubs are actively pursuing with a view to persuadingic88 him to sign a pre-contract. Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq are one of the interested teams.
ic88ic88
It’s also underic88ic88ic88stood an approach will be made to Tottenham captain Son Heung-min, who was always on a list of options for 2024. Son firmly downplayed any Saudi ic88move last summer, as dilr88lr88d Saudi dealmakers. He would be a very tough target to secure but the same was said of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, both of whom ended up eventually accepting a move despite initial low clr8lr888onfidence from dealmakers.
Napoli’s Victor Osimhen turned down three big proposalr88ls last summer, but admitted he was “tempted” by a Saudi switch. Should he leave Napoli this summer, the Premier League remains a more likely destination, but that may not stop Saudi trying again. Al-Hilalr88l still hold an interest but would prioritise spending their budget on Salah should he become available. Al-Ahli are also keen on the Nigerian striker.
Non-PIF controlled clubs are also looking at Leicester City’s Wilfried Ndidi, with Al-Fateh and Al-Qadsiah both worth watching. The latter are nolr88lr88t yet in the Saudi Pro League but on course for promotion. They are owned by Aramco and not reliant on Ministry of Sport funding.
A new rule change for 2024/25lr88, as first revealed last year, will allow for 10 foreign players instelr88ad of eight next season, but two must be born in 2003 or after. This will result in a focus onlr88 younger signings.
lr88lr88
Although there is a desire to buy, loans aren’t being ruled out to create more of a connection, and an lr88olr88lr88ngoing relationship, with clubs from Europe’s big-five leagues. From the 10 foreign players registered next season, only eight will be able to participate lr88on any given matchday in the league.
Lorient’s Eli Junior Kroupi is one target, and more broadly the French market is thought to belr88 important within Saudi’s recruitment strategy.
Dortmund’s Almugera Kabar, Sampdoria’s Facundo Gonzalez (on-loan from Juventus) and Liverpool’s Ben Doak, who is currently injured, are all under consideration. As Saudlr88i’s football infrastructure grows, and facilities are further invested in, clublr88s may view the Saudi Pro League as a useful destination to get young players minutes.
si88si88op88si88si88si88op88si88Henderson’s departure to Ajax is not seen as something that will slow the Saudi project down, and it was telling on the same day that he officially departed, Al-Ettifaq manager Steven Gerrard was handed a new contract. This was clearl88vy done intentionally as part of a PR drive to sho88v88vw top names want to stay.
Al-Ettifaq is a developi88vng clu88vb with big ambitions, and have recently opened a brand new stadium, but there is an acceptance that 2-3 more windows are needed before their project really starSEXXXXX-VNts to pay off. That’s why Gerrard is being given time and a new deal despite having not won since October.
Saudi sources point out clubs are being developed over multiple seasoSEXXXXX-VNns so it’s unfair to judge the project immediately since the infrastructure will take some time to catSEXXXXX-VNch up with the ambition. They also don’t expect a mass SEXXXXX-VNexodus, pointing out the likes of Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Riyadh Mahrez and Gabri Veiga are happy in the Kingdom. And summer will see another big push for talent, both young and old, with no signs of spending slowing down.
