Saudi Pro League director of football Michael Emenalo has rocked Manchester City by hinting that Kevin De Bruyne is a transfer target ahead of the January transfer window. The Belgian midfielder, who remains absent with a hamstring injury, is the latest high-profile star to be targeted by Saudi clubs.
Premier League sides had their best players eyed by the Middle East country during the summer transfer window. N’Golo Kante, Fabinho, Ruben Neves and Aymeric Laporte were among the players who ditched English shores for Saudi Arabia.
Pro League clubs will continue to target the world’s best talent in January, willing to break the bank to do so. Former Chelsea sporting director Emenalo, who now oversees the development of the Saudi top-flight, insists City ace De Bruyne, 32, could be a target if he is available.
There could also be a revival in interest over Mohamed Salah, for whom Liverpool rejected a £150m bid from Al-Ittihad in August.
“Mo Salah, like [Lionel] Messi, [Karim] Benzema, [Cristiano] Ronaldo and the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, these are players that, when there is a sense of availability for them, we are willing to listen,” Emenalo told Sky Sports.
“But we also understand that Mo is happy where he is at present and in a historic, wonderful club at Liverpool. We respect that very much and we don’t want to come across as putting any pressure on him.
“But if there is any interest to do something, Mo Salah is a player that you want in your league, in any league.”
Liverpool are desperate to keep Salah but the longer the forward’s contract ticks towards its expiry date in June 2025, the softer the Reds’ negotiating power becomes. Wide-ranging reports claimed that Al-Ittihad sent an entourage to London to thrash out a deal ahead of the summer transfer deadline, but were unable to convince Liverpool to sell for a record-breaking fee of close to £200m.
