SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
Nigeria’s Emenalo directs Saudi Premier League to have quiet January window
Saudi Pro League (SPL) clubs should only sign players of the “highest level” in the January transfer window after aggressively splashing out in the summer, the league’s director of football, Michael Emenalo, said.
The outlay of $957 million in the Saudi summer window, which closed on Sept. 7, saw several high-profile players including Neymar, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante move to the league.
The league’s spending exceeded that of four of Europe’s “big five” leagues with only Britain’s Premier League clubs splurging more on transfers than those in the Middle Eastern country.
“I think we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish, which was to get our foot into the market and compete aggressively,” Emenalo said in an interview on the SPL website.
“But, also, we wanted to do that while giving every single club in the league an opportunity to improve. I believe we accomplished that.
“And I believe that, what you’re seeing, in terms of the quality of the games and the performance of most of the acquired international players, is a vindication that the transfer market has been relatively well.”
Asked if the coming transfer window would also have a flurry of activity, Emenalo said: “I’m hoping it’s not very busy, because I think the job that was done has been quite interesting and aggressive, and most of the clubs, I believe, have what they need.
“And hopefully the attention will now turn to work within the training facilities to improve these players and to allow the time to adapt and perform.
“Now, whatever additional improvement that we need to do for any club, with time on our hands and preparation, we believe will be additions of the highest level.”
Former Super Eagles’ coach, Jose Peseiro is on the line to coach Saudi Arabia Pro League first tier team, Al Riyadh.
Information from the oil rich country indicate that Peseiro who had previously coached the Saudi Arabia national team is one of the two being considered to replace Odair Hellmann at the Saudi club which placed 14th at the end of last season.
It is gathered that Peseiro has a competitor in Spanish cooach, Javier Pereira who is also lineup for the job.
Peseiro had previously managed Al Hilal in 2006 and later coached the Saudi national team during their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Al Nasr’s Cristiano Ronaldo capped his first full Saudi Pro League season in style as he broke the record for the most goals scored in one campaign on Monday.
The Portuguese 39-year-old scored a brace in his side’s 4-2 win over Al Ittihad on the final matchday to bring his league tally this season to 35 goals.
The previous record was held by former Al Nasr forward and Moroccan international Abderrazak Hamdallah, who scored 34 goals in 2018-19.
Ronaldo, who played for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, joined Al Nasr in January 2023.
-Reuters
Undefeated Al-Hilal won a record-extending 19th Saudi Pro League title on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Al-Hazem to reclaim the trophy from Al-Ittihad who won it last season.
Jorge Jesus’ side hold a 12-point advantage over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in second with three matches remaining.
Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Al-Hilal the lead from the penalty spot after 15 minutes but Faiz Selemani netted the equaliser for Al-Hazem in the 34th minute.
However, Jesus’s side took the lead again with an own goal from Ahmed Al-Juwaid in the 39th minute.
Mitrovic scored again in first-half stoppage time and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored three minutes later to make it 4-1.
Al-Hilal are chasing the treble having clinched the Saudi Super Cup title in April, and having reached the Saudi King’s Cup final where they will play Al-Nassr.
-Reuters
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