TOTTENHAM MAKE STANCE ON SAUDI ARABIA’S INTEREST IN HEUNG-MIN SON AMID EUROPEAN EXODUS TO THE SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
According to multiple reports, Tottenham Hotspur aren’t interested in selling superstar forward Heung-min Son amid reports of an incoming £50 million bid from Saudi Arabian champions Al Ittihad.
The South Korean international is arguably one of the best players in the Premier League and has, in recent weeks, been linked with a move away from the Lilywhites. However, as first reported by European journalist, Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham have no intention to sell the star forward and insist that any sort of exit by the Chuncheon-born winger isn’t part of the team’s plans going forward.
Spurs have still yet to receive a concrete bid for Son and the player looks like he’s very much a part of the plans for new manager Ange Postecoglou. The 30-year-old told reporters on Tuesday while on international duty with South Korea that he intends to continue at the club.
“I have many things to do in the Premier League,” said Son. “Money doesn’t matter to me now, and the pride of playing football, to play in my favorite league is important. I want to play more for Tottenham in the Premier League. I’ll prepare well when I’m back to Spurs.”
With numerous players making the transition to the Saudi Professional League in recent weeks, the competition for top quality players just got stiffer. Pro League champions Al Ittihad acquired 2022 Ballon D’or winner Karim Benzema just over two weeks ago and are expected to add more high profile football personalities over the coming months.
Former Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard told UK’s Channel 4 on Tuesday that he had recently been offered an opportunity to manage a Saudi Arabian club, an offer that he chose to decline. “I was invited over there to look at a potential offer, which I did,” said Gerrard. “I have been analyzing that over the last couple of days. But, as we stand right now, I won’t be taking that offer up.”
Superstar Premier League midfielders Reuben Neves and N’golo Kante, however, took up Saudi Arabia on their offer and completed their respective transfers from the English league to the Saudi league last week, adding numbers to what now seems to be a mass exodus to the Middle East.
Neves, still only 26-years-old, joined the league’s most successful team, Al Hilal, on a €55 million (£47 million/$60 million) fixed transfer fee after discussions between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Spanish giants Barcelona collapsed. The Portuguese international completed the main part of his medicals over the weekend and signed a three-year deal that will keep him in Saudi Arabia until June 2026.
As for Kante, who turned 32 in March, the two-time Premier League champion is reported to have completed the second and final part of his medical tests with Saudi champions Al Ittihad on Sunday. He eventually signed with the Jeddah-based team on Monday. The 2018 World Champion with France was a free agent going into the summer and signed a four-year, fully guaranteed €100 million (£85.5 million/ $109 million) deal with Al Ittihad less than two weeks after beginning negotiations with the club.
Some of Kante’s former teammates including Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Champions League-winning goalkeeper Edouard Mendy could also follow suit and play in the Saudi Pro League in 2023/24. Mendy and Koulibaly share the same agent, Fali Ramadani, who has been the crucial intermediary in talks between Chelsea and the Saudi clubs.
Koulibaly and Mendy are also teammates at the international level and are reported to be ‘extremely close’ friends. The two could, however, end up on opposing sides in Saudi Arabia as Koulibaly is reportedly generating interest from Riyadh-based Al Hilal while Mendy is in talks to join Al Ahli, one of only two teams in the Pro League based in Jeddah.
Al Hilal’s opening bid for Koulibaly, who is still under contract at Chelsea, was reported on Monday to be around €30 million but both parties had not come to an official transfer fee agreement. Both Senegal internationals are open to moving to Saudi Arabia with Mendy intent on leaving the West London club.
The 2021 Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper reportedly feels he won’t play as much as he would like at Chelsea and is keen on a change. Both players could complete their respective moves in the next few weeks if talks are successful. Koulibaly and Mendy are, however, not the only African superstars generating interest from Saudi Arabia.
Chelsea forwards Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Hakim Ziyech, and Manchester City forward Riyad Mahrez are some of the players that could also be on the move this summer. Mahrez and Aubameyang opened talks with Saudi clubs last week and as per European transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, will listen to offers before making a decision on their futures.
Al Ahli are reportedly keen on Riyad Mahrez, who should fetch a significant fee for treble champions, Manchester City, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr are interested in tying up Moroccan international Hakim Ziyech. Al Nassr, will however, have to come to personal terms with the Moroccan international and agree a transfer fee with Chelsea before any sort of move can be made.
Saudi Arabia is shopping for the most elite in European football as the league not only seeks to gain additional eyes on the product but also become competitive in the AFC Champions League and the perennial Club World Cup. European teams have won the Club World Cup a record 16 out of 20 times with the remaining four titles won by South American sides Corinthians, Sao Paulo, and Internacional. Saudi’s Al Hilal fell 5-3 to Real Madrid in the final last year, as the country’s game seeks to be competitive on the global stage.
Saudi clubs were last week linked to Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, who recently played in the Champions League final on June 10th. Lukaku spent last season on loan at Italian giants Inter Milan and is scheduled to return to Chelsea this summer. The 30-year-old is reportedly keen on continuing his career in Europe, preferably at Inter Milan and was reported on Monday to have turned down a contract proposal from Al Ahli.
Although it might seem that Saudi Arabia is currently not an exciting prospective destination for Lukaku, the Middle East might be enticing for one of his teammates at Inter Milan. Croatian international Marcelo Brozovic is reported to be an option in midfield for several Saudi clubs, including Al Nassr and is currently engaged in discussions, per transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Also an available midfield prospect to make a move this summer is Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez.
Saudi Arabia is just getting started with player recruitment and it’s only a matter of time before we see many of the biggest football stars in recent years kick a ball on Arabian soil. With most Saudi clubs intent on spending to acquire the best of the best over the next couple of months, it’s going to be a long summer for some of the clubs in Europe as their players are tempted with offers to play the game abroad.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Дмитрий Голубович. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.