The giants of Riyadh were snubbed by many European stars, including Victor Osimhen, Bruno Fernandes and Theo Hernandez. Despite very attractive offers, the most successful club in Asia has so far struggled to attract its best recruits.
On Monday, it was revealed that they started exploring tracks for other European targets such as Darwin Nunez, Jadon Sancho and Angelino. The Saudi media then said that Nunez had also refused al-Hilal, while rumors of an agreement with Roma for Angelino proved to be premature.
Al-Hilal therefore had to explore other options, and even considered agreements much closer to his home. According to David Ornstein from The Athletic, Al-Hilal is about to conclude a loan for the Al-Ittihad midfielder, N'Golo Kanté.
Chelsea legend would be open to such a transfer, and an agreement should materialize. The loan would only last the time of the World Cup of clubs.
Al-Hilal contacts Ronaldo and Mahrez
According to Ben Jacobs, a Saudi transfers expert, Al-Hilal also approached Cristiano Ronaldo and Riyad Mahrez for similar loans. However, these steps seem to have failed.
Unlike Kanté, Ronaldo refused a short -term transfer to his city rival. The Portuguese megastar is about to sign a new contract of 400 million euros with Al-Nassr. Al-Hilal would also have offered a permanent contract to the 40-year-old player.
Interested mahrez
Regarding Mahrez, Jacobs says that “reluctance” came from his club, Al-Ahli, rather than the player himself. It will be interesting to see if Al-Hilal will also approach Roberto Firmino, Mahrez teammate. Liverpool legend is expected to leave Al-Ahli this summer.
Kanté is expected to join Al-Hilal, while discussions with Angelino are still underway. Given the chaos that currently reigns at Al-Hilal, it remains to be seen if they will be able to conclude these agreements-and potentially to recruit other big names-before the deadline.
