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What awaits a leader at Mercato?
Italian Simone Inzaghi, Al Hilal’s technical director, has begun to outline the squad for the new season after identifying the management’s technical needs during the summer transfer window, as the club continues to explore the futures of a number of its foreign stars, led by Frenchman Karim Benzema, amid management’s efforts to reshuffle the specialist roster.
According to the newspaper “Middle East“Saudi Arabia Inzaghi has informed Al Hilal management of his desire to sign three players during the current Mercato, which will be represented by a local right-back, a local central defender, in addition to a new striker to lead the front line next season.
The newspaper explained that the Italian coach is among his priorities for the right-back position, given the secrecy of the Al Hilal management regarding the proposed names in an attempt to avoid increasing the prices of the players or leaking the details of the negotiations until final agreements are reached.
Inzaghi has also requested that the centre-back position be bolstered by a local player as an additional option alongside Ali Lagami and Hassan Timbukti, especially following the departure of Ali Al-Buleihi from the coaching staff, confirming the manager’s desire to revamp the team’s backline.
As for the foreign roster, sources say Al Hilal are still undecided on the position of Portuguese Joao Cancelo, whose future is still being assessed at the club, pending a final decision along with a comprehensive review of the foreign strikers case.
The newspaper adds that the sports administration is currently working to find the best solutions to manage the frontline case, which includes Malcolm, Karim Benzema, Darwin Nunes and Marcos Leonardo, given the significant increase in salaries and financial obligations associated with these names.
According to the same sources, Marcos Leonardo is considered to be the closest to leaving Al Hilal in the current transfer window, while Karim Benzema’s case remains one of the club’s most complicated, considering the management’s most suitable formula for restructuring the attack for the new season, which corresponds to Inzaghi’s technical vision.
