Al-Ittihad forward Youssef En-Nesyri has been accused by Tunisian football great Tarek Dhiab of contributing to Houssem Aouar’s struggles after the Saudi club were held to a goalless draw by Al-Fateh in the Roshn Saudi League on Saturday.
Aouar started for Al-Ittihad in the 0-0 draw but again failed to produce the level of performance supporters expected when the Algeria international joined the club. The result came in the fourth round of the league season.
Dhiab, speaking as an analyst for Thmanyah, argued that Aouar should be used in a more advanced position, close to the main striker. He suggested the midfielder would be better suited to a “number 9.5” role, where he could operate between the lines, create chances and arrive closer to the penalty area.
According to Dhiab, deploying Aouar deeper or farther from goal restricts the attacking qualities that made him an influential player. However, he believes the success of such a tactical change would also depend on the presence of a mobile striker ahead of him.
Dhiab said he had not seen enough of that movement from En-Nesyri since the Moroccan forward joined Al-Ittihad. The striker has yet to deliver the performances expected of him and has not fully developed an understanding with the team’s wider attacking structure.
The former Tunisia international believes En-Nesyri’s adjustment to Al-Ittihad is directly affecting Aouar. The movements of the centre-forward, particularly his ability to pull defenders away and create space, are central to allowing Aouar to influence matches. When those spaces are not available, Aouar is left operating away from the areas in which he can have the greatest impact.
“By playing En-Nesyri, you lose part of Houssem Aouar’s strength, because Aouar’s best qualities appear when he plays behind the striker,” Dhiab said.
Rather than placing responsibility solely on Aouar for his reduced influence, Dhiab said Al-Ittihad needed to find the most effective role for him and coordinate that role with the striker’s movement.
He added that improving the relationship between Aouar and En-Nesyri could help the Algerian rediscover the form expected by Al-Ittihad supporters. It could also give the club more effective attacking options in the matches ahead.
The draw with Al-Fateh extended the focus on Aouar’s adaptation to Saudi football, with the midfielder yet to consistently reproduce his expected impact since arriving at Al-Ittihad. Dhiab’s assessment places the issue within the team’s attacking system, rather than treating it as an individual problem for the Algeria international.
The discussion came after Al-Ittihad’s latest league fixture, while another Saudi football headline has centred on Al-Hilal preparing all of its resources for a derby against Al-Ahli under the leadership of Watkins.
