The Saudi summer transfer market will witness a surprising deal in the coming hours, after one of Al-Hilal’s stars is close to leaving on loan to Al-Ittihad.
Al-Riyadh newspaper reported in a breaking report on Friday that Al-Ittihad is on the verge of signing Saudi international defender Ali Al-Bulayhi, at the request of coach Laurent Blanc.
The Frenchman had wanted to sign a local left-footed center-back, and Al-Ittihad’s first choice was Abdulelah Al-Amri, but financial demands from Al-Nassr prevented the deal from being completed.
The latest development is that in the past few hours, Al-Ittihad has moved to sign Al-Bulayhi, and Al-Ittihad is exploiting the fact that the player has fallen out of favor with coach Simone Inzaghi, which will reduce Al-Hilal’s demands for his departure.
Al-Bulaihi has tentatively agreed to a move to Al-Ittihad next season, while Al-Hilal has accepted the player’s loan move to their arch-rivals, without revealing the existence of a purchase option in the summer of 2026.
Al-Bulaihi wants to continue playing to ensure his participation with the Saudi national team in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and in the most important tournament if the Green Falcons qualify. He realizes that this is impossible if he continues with Al-Hilal, given Inzaghi’s lack of confidence in his abilities.
Al-Ittihad officials hope to finalize the deal for Al-Bulaihi within the next few hours, hoping he can join the team’s delegation heading to Hong Kong to participate in the Saudi Super Cup, starting with the semi-final match against Al-Nassr on August 20.
