By Victor Kanayo
Algerian international Riyad Mahrez has almost concluded arrangement to join Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League as this summer transfer gathers Steam.
Already, Manchester City have reportedly agreed a £30m deal with the Saudi outfit.
For this reason, the 32-year-old has been given permission not to travel on City’s pre-season trip to Japan and South Korea.
That had already been agreed providing City received a bid that matched their valuation of Mahrez, who had two years left on his contract.
City paid £60m for Mahrez in 2018 and he scored 15 goals from 47 games in the Blues’ Treble-winning season.
However, he was an unused substitute for both the FA Cup and Champions League finals and manager Pep Guardiola has opted to let him join the list of big-name recruits by the SPL this summer.
Liverpool Deal
Liverpool have also agreed a £12m deal in principle worth £12m plus add-ons to sell England midfielder Jordan Henderson to Al-Ettifaq.
Saudi Major Moves
The likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Ruben Neves have already followed Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia this summer, while Steven Gerrard has been named Al-Ettifaq manager and Michael Emenalo has been appointed the SPL’s director of football.
The country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also taken over four of the SPL’s leading clubs, including Al-Ahli, as the league aims to become one of the top five in the world.
