Several players in the Premier League have already made moves to the Saudi Pro League, and there could be further deals to come before the transfer window shuts a few weeks from now.
This season’s summer window in the Gulf state ends on September 7, a few days later than its Premier League equivalent. This means players with English side could be coaxed into Saudi move without their English clubs being able to replace them.
A host of players have left the Premier League for the Saudi Pro League already this summer. England international Jordan Henderson is among the highest profile, with Ruben Neves and N’Golo Kante two of the others to make the move.
According to The Mail, Premier League sides do not expect to be able to put a change in place for this season, though the topic is expected to arise at the next shareholders’ meeting. The Premier League window shuts nearly a week before its Saudi equivalent on September 1.
Earlier reports had suggested the Saudi window would stay open even longer, until September 20. It is not quite that large a discrepancy, with the same report noting that it was brought forward by the Saudi FA, but the six-day gap is still an issue.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is among those to have spoken out about the discrepancy. The German saw three of his men in last season’s squad move to Saudi Arabia, with Roberto Firmino and Fabinho joining former Reds captain Henderson in doing so.
“It is massive, in the moment,” Klopp said of the spending from Saudi clubs. “Pretty much the worst thing I think is that the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open three weeks longer.
“If I am right, I heard of such, then at least in Europe that’s not helpful. UEFA or FIFA must find solutions to that. But in the end, at this moment, I don’t know exactly what will is going to happen.
“It is already influential, for us, for sure. We will have to learn to cope, and that’s what we do. That’s pretty much all I can say about it, time will tell.”
Premier League clubs aren’t the only clubs in Europe to have lost players to the Saudi Pro League this summer. Karim Benzema has joined Al Ittihad from Real Madrid and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has traded Lazio for Al-Hilal, among others.
There was also a world record bid from Al-Hilal for Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe. The French champions accepted the offer, but Mbappe was not receptive to a move despite reports of sky-high wages on offer if he agrees to leave Europe this summer.
