Most transfer windows in Europe closed on Friday but clubs in Saudi Arabia are still open for business until September 7.
While many of the big-spending clubs have already completed their business, there remain a few who are still in the hunt for a big-name signing.
Al Ittihad have left no stone unturned in their chase of Mohammed Salah, but have been met with total refusal from Anfield, meaning they are likely to be taking their transfer budget, thought to be upward of £100million, to other European clubs.
Beyond Salah, there are still deals to be completed as clubs look to benefit from the windfall after the Public Investment Fund acquired a 75 per cent stake in the country’s top four clubs.
With just a few days to go until the end of Saudi Arabia’s window, we look at who has made the move to each of the 18 Saudi Pro League clubs, which positions they are still looking to fill and the players who could swap Europe and South America for the Middle East.
Al Hilal
Saudi Arabia and Asia’s most successful club, the Riyadh-based side have won the Saudi Pro League 18 times and boast a record four AFC Champions League titles. They are majority-owned by the PIF.
Seven of the eight foreign players that helped Al Hilal finish runners-up in the AFC Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup last season have left, only Brazilian winger Michael keeps his place, but he too could be on the way out.
After a protracted pursuit of Lionel Messi and Bernardo Silva, Al Hilal finally got their marquee signing in the form of Brazil captain Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain. Coach Jorge Jesus arrived from Flamengo and was backed by signings across the pitch.
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou arrived from Sevilla, the defence was bolstered by Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea while Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic were added to their midfield and the two new attacking reinforcements, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Malcom, have both already bagged league hat-tricks.
Al Hilal have used up their quota of eight foreign players, but with Neymar soon to recover from injury and make his way into the side, Michael could leave, opening the door for the possibility of an arrival.
Left-back is a position Al Hilal could target. The club had been linked with Joao Cancelo, who left Manchester City for Barcelona, and Kieran Tierney, who has been loaned to Real Sociedad from Arsenal. Coach Jesus is keen to be reunited with Ayrton Lucas, his former charge at Flamengo, and the 26-year-old Brazilian international is the club’s primary target.
Al Nassr
The capital’s second biggest club, Al Nassr’s golden period in the 1990s saw Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoichkov lead them to the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup. They gained unprecedented popularity around the world over the past nine months since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo. They are also majority-owned by the PIF.
Al Nassr got a six-month head start on their rivals with the capture of Ronaldo in January, and the challenge over the summer has been to build a team around their prized asset.
Sadio Mane arrived from Bayern Munich to inject pace in attack, while Marcelo Brozovic from Inter, Lens captain Seko Fofana and Otavio from Porto were added in midfield. For defence, Al Nassr looked to Manchester, bringing in Alex Telles from United and Aymeric Laporte from City.
The final foreign player slot is occupied by Anderson Talisca, who has attracted significant interest from his former club Besiktas but has expressed his commitment to staying at Al Nassr. Should he depart Al Awwal Park, the club is likely to invest in a goalkeeper, with David de Gea and Hugo Lloris touted as options.
Al Ittihad
The oldest club in Saudi Arabia and the only one in Asia to have won the AFC Champions League twice in a row, in 2004 and 2005. They boast the highest attendances in the league, averaging 40,000 fans per match last season. Al Ittihad are majority owned by the PIF.
Despite winning four of their first five matches in the league, Al Ittihad are the club with most uncertainties heading into the final week of the Saudi transfer window.
Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema is up and running with a goal and an assist to his name already, and Fabinho and N’Golo Kante have created a formidable partnership in midfield. Portuguese winger Jota was recruited in a big-money move from Celtic but found himself on the fringes and is yet to start a single game.
Coach Nuno Espirito Santo had planned to switch from the current 4-4-2 diamond formation to a system where he deploys wingers, with Mohamed Salah and Jota key to that vision. Bid after bid were submitted to Liverpool but the Merseyside club have not yielded and are unlikely to do so now that the European transfer window has shut.
This leaves Al Ittihad and Nuno with one of two options; either find an alternative target for the left-wing position or stick to their current narrow set-up which leaves them with a Jota question to answer.
With club captain Ahmed Hegazi out for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, they are looking to find a replacement for the former West Bromwich Albion defender. Free agent Sergio Ramos has been linked for weeks while Al Ittihad are also mulling splashing the cash on Marquinhos from Paris Saint-Germain or Paraguay and Palmeiras captain Gustavo Gomez as they prepare to compete in the AFC Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup which they host in December.
Al Ahli
Rounding off Saudi Arabia’s traditional top four, Al Ahli are Al Ittihad’s fierce rivals in Jeddah. They won the league in 2015-16, after a 32-year gap, but were relegated for the first time in 2021-22. They bounced back immediately and received PIF backing owing to their popularity.
Upon their relegation, Al Ahli lost many of their key players, both local and international, which left them with a mammoth rebuilding job to complete this summer, and they have gone about it in exemplary fashion, putting the newfound PIF riches to good use.
With the right profile of front three identified as a priority, they assembled an attack of the highest quality led by Roberto Firmino who was made captain, flanked by Riyad Mahrez and Allan Saint-Maximin.
In midfield, Franck Kessie was brought from Barcelona for the enforcer role while the search for a more creative partner for him saw them spend weeks chasing Marco Verratti before eventually snatching one of the hottest young prospects in Spain in Celta Vigo’s 21-year-old playmaker Gabriel Veiga.
For defence, Al Ahli looked to Serie A, bringing in Roger Ibanez from Roma and Merih Demiral from Atalanta to form a partnership in front of Edouard Mendy who arrived from Chelsea earlier in the summer.
With all eight places locked in, Al Ahli’s task for the rest of the window is to find a suitor for left-back Ezgjan Alioski. The former Leeds United man was loaned out to Fenerbahce last season as his Saudi club chased promotion, but upon his return now finds himself surplus to the requirements despite excelling in the first couple of games of the season.
Al Shabab
Often called “The Fifth Giant” as the only club historically rivalling the above quartet. Their six league titles are twice as many as Al Ahli but they have not received PIF investment largely due to their dwindling popularity as only the third biggest club in Riyadh.
The lack of investment and the newfound power of the PIF clubs left Al Shabab in a vulnerable situation and it is already showing as they find themselves rooted to the bottom of the league table, along with Al Hazm, with no wins in five matches.
Al Shabab lost their best local player Hassan Tambakti, Saudi Arabia’s star centre-back from the World Cup, who moved to Al Hilal, and their 23-year-old star Moteb Al Harbi, a left-back seems set to leave too. To make matters worse, Carlos Junior, their Brazilian striker who scored 12 goals last season is out with a long-term injury while 11-goal Aaron Boupendza left for MLS side FC Cincinnati, leaving them struggling for firepower.
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In terms of arrivals, Al Shabab added Colombian midfielder Gustavo Cuellar from Al Hilal to partner club captain Ever Banega, and Senegalese forward Habib Diallo was signed from Strasbourg in France.
After being linked with Eden Hazard all summer, Al Shabab signed Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco from Atletico Madrid.
Al Ettifaq
Revived by the arrival of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, the side from Dammam on the oil-rich east coast are Saudi Arabia’s first ‘Invincibles’, having won the old Saudi League unbeaten in 1982-83. The club is not backed by the PIF, although there have been reports of imminent investment by petrochemical giant SABIC.
Following the arrival of Gerrard, Al Ettifaq primarily pursued targets familiar to their new manager, making former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson their marquee signing and bringing in ex-Celtic defender Jack Hendry from Club Brugge and his former team-mate Moussa Dembele.
The club has also brought in another one with Liverpool connections, of Gini Wijnaldum from PSG.
Very excited to start playing with my dear friend Jordan Henderson again and to work with coach Steven Gerrard 🙌🏾🟢🔴 pic.twitter.com/CqRwz4VcVd
— Gini Wijnaldum (@GWijnaldum) September 3, 2023
Al Fayha
Representing Saudi Arabia in the AFC Champions League for the first time this year, Al Fayha stunned Al Hilal in the final of the King’s Cup (Saudi Arabia’s equivalent of the FA Cup) to win their first-ever silverware. They have no official public investment.
Ahead of their first continental appearance, Al Fayha signed Rangers striker Fashion Sakala and partnered him with Nigerian winger Henry Onyekuru who had spent two years on the books of Everton without making a single appearance. Bosnian defensive midfielder Gojko Cimirot was added to strengthen midfield.
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The club are in the market for a left-back and have been linked with Ghislain Konan from Al Nassr and Arsene Zola from Moroccan side Wydad AC. One of the two African defenders is expected to arrive before the end of the window.
Al Taawoun
Arguably the most popular club in the agricultural heartland of Qassim, Al Taawoun have risen to prominence over the past few years, finishing in the top four twice. They have no official public investment.
The side playing in blue and yellow continue to have a distinct Brazilian flavour to them and have enhanced it with the signing of attacking midfielder Mateus Castro from Japanese side Nagoya Grampus and defender Andrei Girotto from Nantes.
Al Taawoun need one more foreign player following the departure of their Cameroonian striker Leandre Tawamba to Al Okhdood, and they are close to agreeing a deal to sign Gambian international Musa Barrow from Serie A side Bologna.
Abha
Based in the city of Abha in the mountainous south, their best result is finishing ninth twice. They are not backed by PIF.
The club have put their trust in a pair of Polish veterans, in midfield former Sevilla man Grzegorz Krychowiak was brought in upon the request of his former coach at the national team, Czeslaw Michniewicz.
Romanian goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu arrived from AC Milan, Cameroonian forward Karl Toko Ekambi was recruited from Lyon and Guinean winger Francois Kamano arrived from Lokomotiv Moscow.
Abha have 10 foreign players, with Cameroonian goalkeeper Devis Epassy and Algerian winger Tayeb Meziani set to be offloaded.
Al Fateh
In 2012-13, Al Fateh did a Leicester City, winning the Saudi Pro League title against all odds just two seasons after their promotion. It remains their greatest achievement, but they have since remained in the top division. They are not backed by the PIF.
Under former West Ham and West Brom manager Slaven Bilic, Al Fateh have recruited intelligently, retaining the core of their foreign contingent that served them well last season and adding two new names; in defence, former Celtic defender Jason Denayer joined from Shabab Al Ahli Dubai and in attack, they landed one of MLS’ best performers of the past three years in Lucas Zelarayan from Columbus Crew.
Bilic’s side already have nine foreign players in their ranks and are looking to move Moroccan midfielder Marwane Saadane.
Al Wehda
One of Saudi Arabia’s oldest clubs, Al Wehda were founded in 1946, but trace their roots to 1916 when Indonesian pilgrims introduced football to the holy city of Mecca where the club is based today, their red and white colours inspired by the Indonesian flag are a nod to that heritage.
Arrivals: Odion Ighalo (Al Shabab), Jawad El Yamiq (Real Valladolid).
The club are still in the market for one more signing and are set to compete with Al Fayha for Konan.
Al Raed
One of a few teams that have never tasted relegation, they are Al Taawoun’s fierce rivals in Qassim. They are not backed by the PIF.
Arrivals: Amir Sayoud (Al Tai), Andre Moreira (Grasshoppers), Oumar Gonzalez (Ajaccio), Mathias Normann (Rostov), Mamadou Loum (Porto – on loan)
Al Raed have already filled up their eight-man quota and are unlikely to make further moves in the market barring a long-term injury.
Al Tai
The club from the northern city of Hail brought Saudi Arabia its greatest goalkeeper of all time, Mohammed Al Deayea, but suffered a few seasons in lower divisions before returning strongly in 2021-22 and finishing sixth that season. Not backed by the PIF.
Arrivals: Robert Bauer (Sint-Truiden), Bernard Mensah (Kayserispor), Virgil Misidjan (FC Twente), Enzo Roco (Elche), Andrei Cordea (FCSB, formerly Steaua Bucharest)
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Having replaced five of their eight foreign players over the summer and renewed their faith in Brazilian goalkeeper Victory Braga and midfielder Alfa Semedo, Al Tai are still in the market for a striker, and have been heavily linked with former Spain international Paco Alcacer who plays UAE with Sharjah FC.
Damac
Named after the Damac mountain in the south, the club from Khamis Mushait first appeared in the top division in 2019-20 and the next season achieved their highest finish at fifth place. They are not backed by PIF.
Arrivals: Assan Ceesay (Lecce), Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (Besiktas)
Damac were linked with a move for former Tottenham Hotspur winger Lucas Moura, but after the Brazilian opted to return home, joining Sao Paulo, they turned their attention to another former Spurs player in Nkoudou who has been a revelation for them in their first couple of games.
There is still room for movement for Damac whose eyes are on World Cup winner Papu Gomez who recently parted ways with Sevilla. Egypt’s defensive midfielder Tarek Hamed is set to move from Al Ittihad, having seen his position in midfield taken cup by Fabinho.
Al Khaleej
Based on the palm oasis of Saihat near the oil fields on the east, Al Khaleej were promoted to the SPL last season and only survived relegation by three points. They are not backed by PIF.
Arrivals: Pedro Rebocho (Lech Poznan), Ivo Rodrigues (Famalicao), Lisandro Lopez (Tijuana), Jung Woo-young (Al Sadd), Ibrahim Sehic (Konyaspor), Mohamed Sherif (Al Ahly), Khaled Narey (PAOK).
With Narey and Sherif joining last week, coach Pedro Emanuel’s team are ready to go with all eight-player spots confirmed. No further business is expected this summer.
Al Okhdood
The team from Najran on the border with Yemen are in the top division for the first time in their history, having achieved back-to-back promotions. They are not backed by PIF.
Arrivals: Alex Collado (Real Betis — on loan), Leandre Tawamba (Al Taawoun), Florin Tanase (Al Jazira), Solomon Kvirkvelia (Neftchi Baku), Sebastian Pedroza (Santa Fe – on loan), Paulo Vitor (Chaves), Andrei Burca (CFR Cluj), Ahmed Mostafa (Smouha — on loan)
With a complete overhaul of their foreign contingent following promotion, Al Okhdood will hope their efforts in the market are enough to keep them in the Saudi Pro League, with no more business to come.
Al Hazem
Back in the top flight immediately after one season in the second tier, they represent the small city of Ar Rass in the Saudi heartlands. They are not backed by PIF.
Arrivals: Aymen Dahmen (Club Sfaxien), Toze (Al Nasr), Faiz Selemani (Kortrijk), Vina (Ceara), Bruno Viana (Coritiba — on loan), Muhammed Badamosi (Cukaricki — on loan).
Al Riyadh
The fourth club from the capital, the club carrying Riyadh’s name enjoyed their best spell in the 1990s and are back in the top flight for the first time since suffering relegation in 2004-05. Not backed by PIF.
Arrivals: Juanmi (Real Betis), Martin Campana (Al Batin), Knowledge Musona (Al Tai), Alin Tosca (Benevento — on loan), Birama Toure (Auxerre), Dino Arslanagic (Goztepe), Didier Ndong (Dijon).
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Al Riyadh are still in the hunt for a striker, having withdrawn from a deal to sign Bouly Sambou from Wydad AC in the last minute. The club have now reportedly approached Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s representatives to gauge his interest in a move from Bayern Munich.
(Photo: Mohammed Saad/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)