Fernandes talks, a ludicrous release clause and Arsenal pair, Liverpool duo targeted in Saudi deals
The Saudi Pro League will be back with a bang in the summer transfer window and Arsenal, Liverpool and Bruno Fernandes could be impacted.
The Saudi 2023 summer transfer window was an experience and while things were a little slower in the Middle East last year, there were still some ludicrous numbers floating around. The same can be expected in 2025 as the sportswashing piles up.
Gabriel Magalhaes
Arsenal first became ‘aware of interest’ in Gabriel from Saudi Arabia as far back as September 2023, but the five-year contract he signed the October before is starting to look a little less watertight.
The most recent report is that Al-Nassr are ‘intent’ on pursuing a deal this summer and have lined up a £16.8m salary package, which is roughly three times what he earns at the Emirates and would be tax-free.
Gabriel is understandably ‘open’ to considering those numbers but Arsenal could pose the biggest problem; they won’t entertain a deal for anything below £84m and would prioritise negotiating an extension with the centre-half in any case.
Gabriel Martinelli
It will depend on the money being offered but ultimately eight goals and four assists in another trophyless season make Martinelli ripe for a ruthless upgrade, especially if Arsenal can make a decent wedge selling him.
Mikel Arteta does, after all, need to generate enough funds to afford Antony and five other Premier League flops.
Emi Martinez
…and indeed Leon Bailey, who the Telegraph reported a few weeks ago were shortlisted by some Saudi clubs. Aston Villa need to make a significant sale for their PSR calculations this summer so might well be forced to listen to offers for either.
Youri Tielemans
They would be less inclined to sacrifice Tielemans in that event, even if Al-Hilal throw £50m or so in their general direction to sweeten a move.
After the season he’s had, the Belgian would reportedly prefer to stay at Villa for their next European adventure too.
Antoine Semenyo
There are big plans over at Al-Nassr, almost definitely to appease Cristiano Ronaldo after his 33-goal season was rewarded with precisely zero team trophies.
It would nevertheless be a bit of a surprise if Bournemouth forward Semenyo ignores overtures from basically every English club on course to qualify for the Champions League, even if the financial incentive for doing so will be ludicrous.
Moises Caicedo
There is approximately no chance of Al-Nassr being able to secure their ‘dream’ midfield target. Caicedo is locked into a Chelsea contract until 2031 and the Blues went through enough stress trying to sign him so won’t be letting go without an almighty fight.
Darwin Nunez
Liverpool rejected two bids from Al-Nassr for Nunez in January, perennially intoxicated by the idea he might come good and petrified of the prospect he does so elsewhere.
A couple of days after the Reds turned down a reported £70m offer from Al-Hilal, the Uruguayan scored the only two goals in a crucial victory over Brentford as a late substitute to keep the toxic relationship alive.
But one goal in 20 appearances has followed and the most inevitable penalty shoot-out miss in history in the Champions League against PSG might finally have asked for too much patience from Arne Slot and the transfer committee. Nunez surely cannot survive the purported Liverpool attacking restructure; he and Jhon Duran can compete directly again for the title of biggest South American chaos merchant.
Luis Diaz
Might the same be said of Diaz? Slot clearly trusts the Colombian more – he has made 20 more starts than Nunez in all competitions – but that is a low bar to clear for a £49.8m forward with two years left on his contract.
With no sign of either renegotiations or a player who has never been particularly prolific or consistent hitting sudden career-best form at 28, Saudi might well finally beckon as Liverpool look to recoup more money they can steadfastly refuse to spend.
Kevin De Bruyne
“At my age, you have to be open to everything. You talk about unbelievable amounts in what may be the end of my career. Sometimes you have to think about that,” said De Bruyne in summer 2024, before the reality of his mortality as a player was laid bare this season.
But a recent renaissance from the Belgian suggests that Manchester City might have acted a little too hastily, and that the 33-year-old is not ready to enter his lucrative retirement phase just yet. Saudi or MLS could beckon eventually but a couple of years at Liverpool would be nice first.
Ederson
Pep Guardiola personally stepped in to retain Ederson when an “unusual proposal” landed from Saudi last summer; he might have wished he hadn’t bothered. Manchester City have had far bigger problems this season but their goalkeeping situation has been sub-optimal.
Ederson’s seven clean sheets in 29 games is only marginally worse than Stefan Ortega’s four in 16, although pointing that out might push a jealous Brazilian closer to the exit.
If Football Insider is to be believed then the 31-year-old remains tempted by Saudi and what could be ‘the last big contract offer’ of his career.
Bruno Fernandes
Ruben Amorim is understandably desperate not to lose his best player at the start of this Manchester United rebuild, but Al-Hilal in particular are pushing and have held ‘talks’ with representatives of Fernandes, who they have given only a week or so to decide before moving onto other targets.
Heung-min Son
The claim from CaughtOffside is that Al Ittihad and Al Hilal are both interested in Son and Spurs might well join them in finding a deal intriguing if a reported £42m offer is received.
Ange Postecoglou might not want to sanction the departure of his captain but a) Son turns 33 in the summer, b) his form has been middling at best, and c) Spurs could still kindly take the decision out of Postecoglou’s hands by permanently and entirely removing him from the equation.
Mohammed Kudus
West Ham perhaps had a better season in mind for both themselves and Kudus when negotiating two separate release clauses: £125m for Saudi clubs, and £85m for Premier League rivals.
Al-Nassr are looking at the forward but there is said to be ‘doubt’ over whether Kudus would embrace the move at this stage of his career.
Kingsley Coman
Since the curse of formerly trophyless Harry Kane overrode the league title-hoarding excellence of Coman in 2023/24, it was a matter of time until the Frenchman upped and left Bavaria. It seems Bayern’s pursuit of Florian Wirtz could grease those wheels.
In an attempt to cobble together the funds for the jewel in Bayer Leverkusen’s crown, Bayern are sifting through their squad for undesirables. Coman has struggled to establish himself as one of Vincent Kompany’s more trusted players and so a solution might well have been found.
The forward’s ‘priority is a move to Saudi Arabia,’ according to Sky Germany, who reckon Bayern could be due a fee of about £30m in return.
Vinicius Junior
Saudi Pro League general manager of marketing communications Mohammed Basrawi has called it “a sensitive issue” but denied any suggestion that the division’s executives had met with Vinicius to discuss a move.
“Honestly, as a league, we don’t get involved in the signings each club intends to make,” he said. “Would we like to have him here? Of course we would, but we, as a league, don’t choose the signings; they depend on each club.”
It seems as though Al-Ahli are the frontrunners for a £252m deal potentially worth £168m a season to the Brazilian, who might have to sign away his Ballon d’Or hopes.
Frenkie De Jong
“These conversations to find out how the market is are frequent,” said Al-Ittihad director of football and former Barcelona executive Ramon Planes of ongoing interest in De Jong in February.
The De Jong ship does seem to have sailed in terms of him leaving Barcelona for anyone but if they start pulling financial levers again the high-earning Dutchman could be first out.
