Topic: Saudi Professional League 2023/2024 - page 70. (Read 118912 times)

They were thinking about Osimhen for 80 million, but when Ivan Toney was available for half that price, it was a no brainer to accept that offer of course. I think it's quite important to remember that this is going to be a league that will continue to spend a lot of money but they try to pay the money to players and not to teams, so transfer budget is mostly about the salary, which is why they preferred to get Toney instead of Osimhen.

I think retirement is true for some of the older players, but we are starting to see players that are 32-33 years old or younger that come here too, if they can stay here and make ten times more than what they make at Europe, then some of the players are happy to be here instead of Europe. Not everyone will be convinced to come here like how Kroos rejected, but some will be happy to take the money.

It seems that Al-Ahli are not very satisfied with Firmino's performance and that's what made them recruit a new striker to be more convincing this season. I don't know for sure why Firmino hasn't been able to do much so far and has only been good at the beginning and there are doubts whether he is finished now? Surely Al-Ahli want to move quickly without having to sacrifice every match to lose points.

The title competition is indeed an event that is always awaited and we know it is very difficult to destroy the dominance of Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr if they do not have the same depth. Here Al-Ahli are trying to do that and actually they are capable if they do it right. What is certain is that Ivan Toney's adaptation must be in line as quickly as possible with his colleagues and I think that is not difficult considering he comes from the most competitive league in the world.

Toney, Mahrez and Firmino can support each other well and it reminds me about Mane, Salah, Firmino in Liverpool years ago. Toney can not compare too Mane with playing style and skills they have but Mahrez can provide similar things from dribbling, speed, assists like Salah but of course he can not score many goals like Salah. These three attacking players make a lower level of Mane, Salah, Firmino combination years ago in Liverpool and Premier League. Anyway in Saudi Professional League, they will be good enough and be able to help Al-Ahli beating many clubs there.

They are ready to play better than the past season and can challenge Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, and Al-Ittihad more seriously in this season. This only makes Saudi Professional League more exciting and deserves more time to watch.

I would say Al Ahli saudi's squad is quite strong this season too. But whether they can compete for the title is not certain. If the performances are not regular, the team will not compete for the title. If they won the first match this season, the team lost points against Al Fateh in the second match. However, Ahli's squad has several talented strikers like Ivan Toney, Riyad Mahraz and Firmino. Also, the midfield of this team is quite strong. If Ahli's coach was more experienced then maybe we would have seen a better performance from this team.

Al Hilal has been in excellent form this season as well as previous seasons. The team won two matches. The overall gameplay of this team is strong. On the other hand, one of the title rivals Al Nassr dropped points against AL Raed in their first match.

Yeah, with the arrival of Ivan Toney, Al-Ahli's performance should improve because previously they had some great players. This will make the competition in the Saudi Pro League even fiercer but somehow I'm not sure if Al-Ahli is aiming for the title I mean they can only compete in top 3-4 no more and Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal will remain the main candidates to win the title. In this transfer window only a few European players came not like last season,

It is not the only factor that makes Ivan Toney is impressive. As far as I know he often made many goals in EPL. Even if he didn't become the top scorer but his name was in the list of most productive strikers in EPL. Yes, he has a great ability in shooting, he will easily score many goals in SPL if Al Ahli midfielders can support him with good assists. Al Ahli also has good wingers that can support him as well.

Ivan Toney seems fit to play together with Firmino. Firmino can be an attacking midfielder, he is very experienced and has good ability in delivering assists. In theory, Toney-Firmino will be good duo for Al Ahli attackers. I'm very sure Firmino won't be too obssesed to score goals as many as possible. He must be ready to play as an attacking midfielder.

Well it is a fact that when things happen they can go down the path that is sometimes the most feared, not only has it been said here, they have said it on ESPN, Al Nassr's defense is a problem and that must be fixed as soon as possible, they must do it because it is necessary to see if they see an improvement, but at this point I think they Should have more recoverers and a more solid line, that the full-backs do not launch themselves to the attack because they leave the goal vulnerable and obviously that is how they score goals, I am not in favor of CR7 or any forward coming to the defense to help, they have to do something with their defensive formation, be more Precise.

Angelo.... and sorry for what im gonna say but seems like another money laundry or financial structure movement made by the Chelsea management, do you see they buy him for 15 millions he never play for chelsea, send in a loan to strasbourg, comeback to Chelsea doesnt play again and seel now for 23 millions...... i know arabs pay for everything overprices, but this seems like other thing, like a favor to Chelsea to make space or to make up the accounting.

Although Ivan Toney is often associated with Arsenal but it seems that Arsenal are not really interested in recruiting him so far, so I think that the fact that he is often associated with big teams actually makes his name more popular as a striker, compared fr other strikers, I think Ivan Toney is not a very fantastic striker so far so if he continues to stay at Brentford maybe his career will get worse later,  fortunately he took the right choice to join Al Ahli at this time, apart from the competition in the Arab League which is not tight as competitive as the English League of course at this time he is no longer anxious about his future, Ivan Toney, who was recruited by Al Ahli after failing to get Osimhen, is contracted for four seasons and reportedly earns a salary of almost 500,000 pounds per week including bonuses, and we can compare how far the salary increase he is currently receiving compared to when he was still playing at Brentford which only paid 50,000 pounds per week, so I think money is currently the main attraction for any European player who moves to the Arab League.

The Arabs were smart in this marketing aspect when they brought famous players from Europe. But they make the mistake of not being able to hire famous coaches so that they can also have a good quality league. If the Saudi Arabian teams focused on hiring good foreign coaches, then we would see a league with good quality and they wouldn't need to constantly be hiring famous players. Because honestly, what's the point of hiring famous players when they have great coaches in most of the teams in the league?




source: https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1831757380335628437

How many more foreign players do they need? And what about the native players? Because I don't see anyone speaking well of any native player. Al Nassr only talks about Ronaldo, it seems like Al Nassr's native players are non-existent. Al Ittihad has now signed Bergwijn, and I haven't seen anyone speak well of any native Al Ittihad player either.

Al Ahli did go for other players but it turns out the Englishman showned them greenlights on time. Ivan Toney is average player but based on his exceptional abilities, I think he’s gradually turning to be world class player, although he played for average club like Brentford. European players have ditched into the SPL and seeing it as a league for their retirement in their football career. First it was the China league, now we’re watching the Saudi Arabia Pro League housing these players mostly the big names, players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and more players.

In Kante's case, he played very well when with his national team. therefore, several clubs are rumored to want to bring Kante from one of the Saudi clubs. in this league, there are quite a few young players from Europe who are starting their careers. whatever the factor why they are willing to join, it still does not rule out the possibility of returning to play in the European League competition. it's just that for players who are over 30+, it is very unlikely that any European club will want their services. besides the age factor, salary will also be a consideration for clubs that want to bring him in. at most, a small club and that is if the player is willing. moreover for those players who are over 30+, most of them will end their careers in this competition. besides the schedule is not as tight as in the European League, the salary they receive is also very fantastic. it makes sense, this is for the future after retiring from football.

I also think Al Nassr would be better off bringing in players to strengthen their defense. I don't really mind young players wanting to move to the SPL. But there are also national team coaches who have a problem with their young players pursuing a career in the SPL.
Currently, the SPL is getting more popular by bringing in top European players and it is working. Bringing in young players will increase the competition. I think it will be good enough for the development of the League.
When their League gets better, it will refute the perception of coaches who think European players pursuing a career there do not have an increase in performance.

I think the reason why most Saudi Pro League clubs started with signing veteran players in the past was because these players were big names in football and were globally recognized so in their attempt to make the league popular among football fans across the globe, they were going for these veteran and popular footballers instead of signing young talents that will not attract global audience to the league. To an extent, they've been able to achieve their aim of attracting global attention to football in the Middle East country which is why they are now signing young talents.
Signing Ângelo Gabriel was a good transfer deal for Al Nassr even when I think they needed to sign quality defender instead of a winger. Hopefully for the Brazilian winger, he succeeds in his new club.

Chelsea had to do this to reduce their player quota and I think they know what they are doing. This opportunity was utilized well by Al-Nassr and although his performance is not yet clear but I am quite sure he will make a significant impact this season.

I also heard that apart from the attractive salary, Ângelo Gabriel was also very enthusiastic when he knew he would play in the same team as Ronaldo and that is why he did not need to think twice to sign his contract. The rest we can only hope that this player does not flop badly at Al-Nassr and also the way to return to Europe later is still quite open considering his very young age. We will wait and see if he can do a good duet with Ronaldo and score many goals of course.

I agree with you that Ivan Toney is a player who can be relied on at Al-Ahli and indeed Ivan Toney's decision was a good decision to join Al-Ahli because I am sure that Toney's move to Al-Ahli will have great potential to make his name popular and also he earned a bigger salary at Al-Ahli. and to be honest, I also didn't think that Ivan Toney would move to Al-Ahli because before Ivan Toney officially joined Al-Ahli, it was true that there was news that Ivan Toney was reportedly going to Arsenal or Chelsea, but yes, now Ivam Toney is starting his career in the Saudi Arabian League. and surely his appearance will attract a lot of people's attention.

Ivan Toney is indeed very good in attack and of course, a duet with Firmino will definitely be very interesting and of course now Al-Ahli is really proud to be able to bring in Ivan Toney to make his squad look even better. And of course, in this initial season, Al-Ahli was only able to win 1 of the last 2 matches. Now Al-Ahli is really ready for the next match and of course the next match will definitely be more interesting because Al-Ahli's squad is now getting better.

Yes, we'll see what strategy Matthias will use for Al-Ahli's next match against Al-Nassr and of course I'm curious about the next match between Ivan Toney and his friends against Cristiano Ronaldo and his friends. and later we will find out where Ivan Toney is placed by Matthias and surely many people will be curious.

Young players who are currently joining clubs in the SPL. still has a chance to return to playing in European football. And last season there were even several European players who came here and then went back to Europe. So coming to the SPL will not be the end. Because currently even several players in several clubs in the SPL are being looked at by European clubs and some have even received offers back from European clubs. But many do not choose to return to Europe. An example is Kante, who was offered by West Ham and Atletico Madrid in the transfer market yesterday. Because Kante's quality is still good and attracts interest from European clubs.

Years ago, before the rise of Saudi Professional League, there was hyping Chinese Super League and several star players from Europe moved to China. One of them returned to Europe and succeed in this continent again, he is Witsel, the Belgium midfielder.

If a player is not too old, he can return to Europe and start a second chapter in Europe again, it's not big deal. The challenge is only their talent is enough to play well in Europe or not, it's more important. Kante, Benzema and Ronaldo can still play in Europe but their ages are old enough to consider of career downside and even retirement. There is no surprise if they no longer can play too well in Europe like 5 years ago as time and ageing are unavoidable threats on career of any player.

Look, Koeman's got his style, every coach does. Saying the Saudi league's is a career graveyard is old-fashioned thinking, though. Ronaldo, Benzema, Kante - these players aren't slowing down simply because they're in Saudi Arabia. Surely, Bergwijn's action relates to the money. But let's see how he plays. Who cares why he's there if he's killing it, scoring goals, generating chances? Kante is in Saudi and still a beast for France

Koeman's worried about motivation? That's fair, but it can't be the only factor. Like everyone else, Bergwijn's must earn his place. The Saudi league is growing really serious. They draw elite talent, not only purchase has-beens. European coaches have to get ready. This is no more some retired league. This is a novel difficulty; the intelligent ones will adjust

Each coach has different thoughts in choosing Players and Koeman, in my opinion, is actually the coach who is too naive at the moment by dropping Bergwijn from the netherland national team ahead of the UEFA Nations match, Bergwijn has been an important player who often makes a lot of contributions and also supports the netherland attacks from the left wing line but his decision to leave for Al ittihad actually meant that he no longer had the opportunity to play in the national team at this time, what Koeman did in my opinion no sense at all and looked like a stupid coach who immediately punished a player for just his move and not his performance, the Saudi Arabian league is starting to be very competitive at the moment, so it would be better for Koeman to wait and see how Bergwijn plays in the Arab League and not immediately write him off from squad, even players like Ronaldo, Mane and Kante can still play very good when play with his country even though they have been playing in the Arab league all this time,  I don't know what makes Koeman think if Bergwijn is no longer worthy of playing for the national team just because he joined Al Ittihad at this time?
In my opinion, Koeman treatment of Bergwijn is completely unfair, because previously Wijnaldum, who moved to Al Ettifad from PSG, still had a place in the netherland squad, so why not Bergwijn?