Yassine Bounou facing uncertain Al Hilal future amid foreign quota reshuffle

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou could be relegated to a marginal role at Al Hilal next season, with Saudi media claiming the club are seriously considering removing him from their domestic squad list to make room for new signing Crysencio Summerville.

Reports in Saudi Arabia say Al Hilal have reached an agreement with West Ham United to buy the Dutch winger, with an official announcement expected within 48 hours. His arrival is prompting a reshuffle of the foreign player quota at the club, and Bounou is believed to be one of those most at risk.

Saudi journalist Abdulaziz Al-Muraisel, who is widely described as close to Al Hilal, said the board are studying the option of deregistering Bounou from the local league squad and instead relying on Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais for domestic competition.

According to Al-Muraisel, Bounou would then be restricted to playing only in the Asian elite competition, referred to in Saudi reports as “نخبة اسيا”. He added that if the Morocco international refuses such a reduced role, Al Hilal are prepared to part with him completely before the current summer transfer window closes.

The move is being discussed to free up a slot on the domestic registration list for Summerville and to balance the presence of other foreign players ahead of the new campaign. With foreign quota spots tightly controlled, each additional overseas signing forces a decision elsewhere in the squad.

That leaves Bounou, a high-profile arrival at Al Hilal and one of the most prominent Arab goalkeepers in world football, facing what the original report described as a potentially “dark” or bleak future at the Riyadh club if he is unwilling to accept a secondary status.

The situation has drawn comparisons in Saudi media to that of Uruguay forward Darwin Nunez at the club last season. In the middle of the previous campaign, Nunez’s name was removed from Al Hilal’s domestic squad list, limiting him to appearances only in Asian competition rather than in the Saudi Pro League.

In Bounou’s case, a similar outcome would mean he remains under contract but loses his place in the local league set-up, with his prospects at Al Hilal effectively dependent on continental fixtures. If he rejects that compromise, the club are, according to Al-Muraisel, ready to “get rid of him completely” this summer.

Al Hilal, known as “Al Zaeem” by their supporters, have been one of the most active clubs in the Saudi Pro League in recent transfer windows, continually reshaping their squad under the constraints of domestic and continental registration rules. The handling of Bounou’s status, and Summerville’s imminent arrival, underline how tightly those quotas now dictate decisions over even the highest-profile names.