Al-Ittihad's Khamis Al-Zahrani Warns Aouar and En-Nesyri to Leave

Al-Ittihad great Khamis Al-Zahrani has delivered a blunt message to two of the club’s biggest foreign names: Houssem Aouar and Youssef En-Nesyri should walk away from Jeddah before the new season begins.

The former midfield linchpin, speaking to Al-Arabiya, painted a stark picture of a giant heading into a decisive year without the squad structure to match its ambitions.

Big season, big problems

“Al-Ittihad is heading into a very big season,” Al-Zahrani said, before immediately cutting to the issue. The club, he argued, is short on depth, and that shortage is being exposed by the demands of new German coach Jens Wissing.

For Al-Zahrani, the problem sits right in the middle of the pitch.

“Al-Ittihad needs great depth in midfield,” he explained, making it clear that the current options do not fit what Wissing wants: direct play, aggressive pressing, and rapid transitions. In his view, neither Aouar, Fabinho nor En-Nesyri can deliver those specific roles in the way the coach requires.

That is a heavy verdict on three high-profile players, and it comes at a time when the club can ill afford hesitation.

Under scrutiny – and under pressure

Al-Zahrani stressed that Fabinho, Aouar and En-Nesyri are all under Wissing’s microscope as the German shapes his first Al-Ittihad squad. Decisions, he warned, cannot wait.

“Al-Ittihad needs midfielders,” he insisted, urging the club to move quickly so the coach can “take the appropriate decision on them as soon as possible,” noting that Fabinho’s contract has already expired.

For Al-Zahrani, this is not just about trimming the squad. It is about reshaping the core of the team in line with a very specific tactical blueprint. That means speed in decision-making and precision in recruitment.

“These matters require speed in decision-making, in addition to quality in selection,” he said, pointing out that Wissing has now had time to study his players, “put his finger on the wound,” and identify where the gaps lie.

Those gaps, in his view, must be filled by “distinguished signings.”

Midfield rebuild on the horizon

Al-Zahrani expects that rebuild to start in midfield. He revealed his understanding that Al-Ittihad will move for two central players: one to directly replace Fabinho, and another with a profile similar to Mamadou Doumbia.

Aouar’s future, he underlined, is tied to the wider puzzle of squad composition and the foreign-player quota. If the club brings in the reinforcements Wissing wants, there may be no room left for the Algerian playmaker.

That is why Al-Zahrani’s advice to Aouar and En-Nesyri is so stark: leave now, before the season locks them into bit-part roles in a system that does not suit them.

Tight timeline, thin margins

The wider context is hardly forgiving. Al-Zahrani described the situation facing Al-Ittihad as “thorny,” with the clock ticking and finances strained. On top of that, Wissing is stepping into one of the region’s most pressurised jobs without a long track record of managing a club of this size.

Time is short. Money is tight. Expectations are not.

Al-Zahrani’s words cut through the noise: Al-Ittihad must act decisively in the market, reshape its midfield, and resolve the futures of Aouar, En-Nesyri and Fabinho. The club has chosen its coach and his ideas.

Now it has to choose who can live with them.