Mohamed Salah remains firmly in the focus of Saudi Pro League clubs despite his loss of form at Liverpool.
Salah turned down a £500million move to the Middle East to sign a new two-year contract with Liverpool at the end of last season.
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But sources have told The Pitch Prospect that Saudi dealmakers remain committed to recruiting the Egyptian superstar at some point.
The 33-year-old failed to reach the heights of last season’s Premier League title campaign and was left on the bench in Sunday’s 2-0 win at West Ham.
This opens up the interesting possibility that the parade could be revived as early as next summer.
Al Hilal is still believed to be a leading candidate for Salah, but Al-Qadsiah has also expressed interest.
As well as Salah, The Pitch Prospect can also reveal that lawyers have started working on a deal to bring troubled Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior to Saudi Arabia and make him the highest-paid player in the world.
The boss in demand is keeping his options open
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola is likely to leave the Cherries sweating over his future.
Iraola is one of several high-profile Premier League managers whose contracts expire at the end of this season, along with Marco Silva – who has been tipped to join a “bigger club” by one of his own players – and Oliver Glasner.
Cherries owner Bill Foley is desperate to tie the Spaniard down to a new contract after overseeing the Dorset side’s best-ever Premier League season last season.
But The Pitch Prospect understands Iraola, who was interviewed by Tottenham ahead of Thomas Frank’s appointment, would like to wait until the end of the season.
In the past, Iraola has preferred to work on rolling one-year deals and it was seen as a coup when Bournemouth swooped in to sign him on a two-year extension in May 2024.
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The £52million United star is facing the axe
Manuel Ugarte’s future at Manchester United is looking increasingly bleak.
Ugarte was one of the players criticized by Ruben Amorim after finishing 16th in the Premier League last season.
This season, the Uruguayan appears to have completely lost the trust of his coach, having started just two of 13 Premier League games.
United are planning a major overhaul of their midfield next summer and are prepared to break their club transfer record to sign one of Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton or Elliot Anderson.
This inevitably means losses and Ugarte is allowed to move on. The club have reportedly identified up to ten other players who could follow them to the door.
A January exit would see the midfielder leave Old Trafford just 18 months after United spent £52m (including add-ons) to sign him from Paris Saint-Germain.
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City’s summer signing wants out
According to The Pitch Prospect, Manchester City are reluctant to let departing James Trafford leave.
Trafford wants to leave the Etihad after only returning to his boyhood club from Burnley in the summer after losing his place to Gigi Donnarumma.
The 23-year-old knows he will face an uphill battle for a place in Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad if he doesn’t play regularly in the first team.
Trafford has interest from both Wolves and several European teams.
However, City boss Pep Guardiola would prefer to keep Trafford and sack Stefan Ortega instead.