Ayman Flatah move highlights Al Ahli’s Saudi Pro League squad rebuild

Al Ahli have agreed to send rising defender Ayman Flatah on loan to newly promoted Al-Faisaly, continuing the club’s reshaping of their squad at the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

The deal, announced by Al Ahli on Friday, will keep Flatah at Al-Faisaly until the end of the new season. The move makes him the fifth player to leave Al Ahli on loan during the current summer transfer window.

Flatah will join fellow Al Ahli player Eid Al-Mولد at Al-Faisaly. The Saudi Pro League newcomers had already secured the temporary transfer of the developing midfielder, with that agreement also running until the conclusion of the season.

The latest departure underlines the extent of Al Ahli’s decision to give several of their younger players regular football elsewhere while they continue preparing for the new Saudi Pro League campaign.

Alongside Flatah and Eid Al-Mولد, Abd Elilah Al-Khaibari has moved to Al-Fateh on loan. Yassin Al-Zubaidi and Yazan Madani have also left Al Ahli temporarily to join Al-Kholood.

In total, seven players have departed Al Ahli during the summer so far. The five loan moves are joined by the exits of Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez and Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie.

The club have also parted company with German manager Matthias Jaissle, meaning the changes to the squad have been accompanied by a change in the dugout.

Al Ahli began their 2026-27 Saudi Pro League campaign on Thursday with a 1-0 victory over Al-Diriyah. Armenian midfielder Eduard Spertsyan, who joined from Russian club Krasnodar, scored the only goal of the match.

That opening-day result gave Al Ahli a winning start as they adjusted to a considerably altered group of players. The club’s decision to loan five members of the squad, including the recently announced Flatah move, has allowed Al-Faisaly to add further depth following their promotion to the Saudi Pro League.

For Al-Faisaly, Flatah’s arrival represents another addition from one of the division’s established clubs as they prepare for their first season back among Saudi Arabia’s leading teams. He will now spend the campaign alongside Eid Al-Mولد, while Al Ahli continue to manage the departures of several emerging players.

The summer movement has therefore extended beyond individual transfers, with Al Ahli balancing the loss of experienced figures such as Mahrez and Kessie with a series of loan arrangements for younger players. Their first league win, secured by Spertsyan, came as that wider rebuilding process continued.