Signings Report — Saudi Pro League 2020/21

Clubs' accuracy in the market · Published on March 15, 2021

We identified 151 real signings across the 16 clubs of Saudi Pro League; 148 are included in the hit-rate calculation (3 youth investments set aside). Signings without relevant game time are classified as unsuccessful. League average hit rate: 34%.

Comparison with 2019/20

The league's average hit rate was 34%, against 34% the previous season (▲ 0 p.p.). There were 151 real signings, against 203 in 2019/20.

Hit rate by club

1º Al-Fateh (7th in the league · 5 eval.)
70%
2º Al Baten (13th in the league · 14 eval.)
54%
3º Al-Faisaly FC (11th in the league · 9 eval.)
44%
4º Al-Nassr (6th in the league · 8 eval.)
44%
5º Al Shabab (2nd in the league · 12 eval.)
42%
6º Abha (12th in the league · 10 eval.)
40%
7º Al Taawon (4th in the league · 5 eval.)
40%
8º Al-Ahli Jeddah (8th in the league · 8 eval.)
38%
9º Al-Ain (16th in the league · 15 eval.)
37%
10º Al-Qadisiyah FC (14th in the league · 9 eval.)
33%
11º Al Wehda Club (15th in the league · 10 eval.)
30%
12º Al-Ittihad FC (3rd in the league · 7 eval.)
29%
13º Damac (10th in the league · 14 eval.)
18%
14º Al-Hilal Saudi FC (1st in the league · 6 eval.)
17%
15º Al-Raed (9th in the league · 13 eval.)
15%
16º Al-Ettifaq (5th in the league · 3 eval.)
0%

Detailed ranking

ClubLeague positionSigningsEvaluatedSuccessfulFairUnsuccessfulHit rate %
Al-Fateh5531170%
Al Baten13º141455454%
Al-Faisaly FC11º9940544%
Al-Nassr8823344%
Al Shabab131234542%
Abha12º101040640%
Al Taawon5512240%
Al-Ahli Jeddah8822438%
Al-Ain16º151543837%
10ºAl-Qadisiyah FC14º9922533%
11ºAl Wehda Club15º101022630%
12ºAl-Ittihad FC8720529%
13ºDamac10º1514131018%
14ºAl-Hilal Saudi FC6610517%
15ºAl-Raed1313121015%
16ºAl-Ettifaq330030%

Season Highlights

PlayerClubMinG+ANotaRating
Éver BanegaAl Shabab23327+117.76Excellent
Fabio AbreuAl Baten250517+27.20Excellent
Júlio TavaresAl-Faisaly FC263015+57.13Excellent
Saleh Al-AmriAbha26004+87.27Excellent
Carlos StrandbergAbha245716+27.13Excellent

Methodology

Only genuine signings for the first-team squad are considered — academy promotions, loan returns and internal moves are excluded. Each evaluated signing is classified into five tiers from a score that combines match ratings, attacking output adjusted for game time and consistency over the season, in comparison with the other players in the competition. Successful signings count as a full point; Fair ones, half a point.

Appendix — Signings by club

* Youth investment (under-23, no game time) — outside the calculation.

Abha (10 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Saleh Al-Amri30260048Excellent
Carlos Strandberg282457162Excellent
Riyadh Sharahili25224343Good
Abdulrahman Al-Barakah30135410Below expectations
Craig Goodwin16133521Good
Fahad Bin Jumayah2692700Did not deliver
Saeed Ali1844200Did not deliver
Thaar Al-Otaibi157200Did not deliver
Abdullah Al Shammari3000Did not deliver
Ali Al-Mazidi27000Did not deliver

Al Baten (14 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Fabio Abreu282505172Excellent
Martín Campaña27242900Good
Xandro Schenk27216101Fair
Youssef El Jebli262152511Excellent
Renato Chaves24207011Fair
Dhaifallah Al-Qarni28203402Good
Saad Al Khayri27201303Fair
Mohamed Rayhi26198564Good
Khaleem Hyland21153100Fair
Al-Aowda1390900Below expectations
Hassan Mohammed Raghfawi2087801Did not deliver
Naif Almas2786600Did not deliver
Rakan Shamlan1771920Fair
Saleh Al Abbas2856341Below expectations

Al Shabab (13 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Igor Lichnovsky26234031Excellent
Éver Banega272332711Excellent
Fábio Martins26208294Excellent
Majed Zaid26198000Fair
Fawaz Al-Sagour24137214Fair
Husain Al-Monassar29121001Below expectations
Odion Ighalo1384693Fair
Giedrius Arlauskis872000Below expectations
Nawaf Al-Abed2063722Fair
Jamal Bajandouh2743200Did not deliver
Khaled Al-Ghamdi416601Did not deliver
Dubaysh Khalid Hussain1510100Did not deliver
Ammar Al Najjar *113700Investment

Al Taawon (5 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Iago Santos26225040Good
Nawaf Al-Sabhi21118000Did not deliver
Alejandro Romero Gamarra1187274Fair
Mitchell Duke1278100Fair
Ali Alnemer2242911Below expectations

Al Wehda Club (10 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Abdullah Hussein Al-Owisher27243600Fair
Abdullah Al-Hafith24197801Fair
Hernâni30188251Good
Pedro Henrique25144700Did not deliver
Hussain Ahmed Al Issa26139025Good
Ala'a Al-Hejji28114603Below expectations
Mohammed Al Alamri1555500Did not deliver
Raghed Al-Najjar2027000Did not deliver
Abdulkarim Al Qahtani123800Did not deliver
Basem Al-Baqi13000Did not deliver

Al-Ahli Jeddah (8 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Ljubomir Fejsa23164111Fair
Alexandru Mitriță25146645Good
Driss Fettouhi20146120Good
Samuel Owusu1068432Fair
Mohammed Al-Rubaie2761400Did not deliver
Talal Al-Absi618810Did not deliver
M'Baye Niang512400Did not deliver
Hassan Al Qaid811900Did not deliver

Al-Ain (15 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Getterson29222544Good
Filip Bradarić25204415Good
Bastos23193520Fair
Saif Hussain24163400Fair
Juanpi Añor18139755Excellent
Badou Ndiaye13114021Good
Mohammed Al-Shoraimi19104900Did not deliver
Hassan Fallatah1383700Below expectations
Ali Al-Khaibari1058600Did not deliver
Saphir Taïder755231Fair
Abraham Frimpong1451600Did not deliver
Nawwaf Al Harthi849600Did not deliver
Rabeaa Sefiani2332022Below expectations
Nawaf Al-Farshan1618600Did not deliver
Abdullah Al Rashidi163500Did not deliver

Al-Ettifaq (3 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Karol Mets26183400Below expectations
Abdullah Al-Salem1129010Did not deliver
Firas Al-Ghamdi4000Did not deliver

Al-Faisaly FC (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Júlio Tavares302630155Excellent
Hicham Faik28238834Excellent
Alexander Merkel27207112Good
Romain Amalfitano23190013Good
Abdulaziz Al-Shereid3064500Did not deliver
Khaled Al-Semeiry1533400Did not deliver
Hussain Qasim2828000Did not deliver
Abdullah Al-Qahtani714510Did not deliver
Shaye Sharahili124200Did not deliver

Al-Fateh (5 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Mourad Batna26214966Excellent
Amaar Al Dohaim26208110Good
Christian Cueva15105487Excellent
El Arbi Hillel Soudani1389420Fair
Hassan Al-Habib2572602Below expectations

Al-Hilal Saudi FC (6 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Luciano Vietto27179043Excellent
Habib Al-Wutaian2272000Did not deliver
Muteb Al-Mufarrij1850400Did not deliver
Abdullah Al-Jadani1627000Did not deliver
Abdullah Al-Hamdan1120410Below expectations
Fwaz Altryes182100Did not deliver

Al-Ittihad FC (8 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Ahmed Hegazy25219720Good
Bruno Henrique17130813Excellent
Omar Hawsawi2790301Did not deliver
Hamed Al-Mansour2043100Did not deliver
Abdulaziz Al Jebreen2527100Did not deliver
Abdulmajid Al-Sawat1817900Did not deliver
Abdulrahman Al Yami135400Did not deliver
Mohammed Al-Thain *0000Investment

Al-Nassr (8 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Ali Al-Hassan28158901Fair
Gonzalo Martínez18142336Excellent
Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem19131521Good
Ali Lajami2088111Did not deliver
Osama Al Khalaf2873800Did not deliver
Raed Al-Ghamdi2264922Fair
Jin-su Kim759600Fair
Abdulfattah Asiri828010Below expectations

Al-Qadisiyah FC (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Edson21187411Good
Carolus Andria30184570Fair
Danilo Asprilla18133481Good
Mihai Bordeianu14101800Fair
Abdulrahman Al-Safri2977100Did not deliver
Anas Zabani2323600Did not deliver
Mohammed Al-Waked2622500Did not deliver
Omar Al-Zeni122700Did not deliver
Ahmed Al Fraidi31500Did not deliver

Al-Raed (13 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Nemanja Miletić29261201Good
Khalid Al-Khathlan26146100Did not deliver
Aqel Al-Sahbi2390510Below expectations
Marko Marin1081403Fair
Ronnie Fernández1572132Fair
Jaber Issa1332200Did not deliver
Mansour Al-Harbi1026510Did not deliver
Awdh Faraj418511Did not deliver
Fawaz Fallatah226200Did not deliver
Khalid Alsubaie34500Did not deliver
Abdulfattah Adam Mohammed33710Did not deliver
Abdulrahman Al Ghamdi151100Did not deliver
Hussain Al-Nakhli0000Did not deliver

Damac (15 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Tariq Mohammed26192200Fair
Mansour Hamzi28159442Good
Abdullah Al-Amar27149122Fair
Cristian Lema1192300Below expectations
Mohammed Alzubaidi1985801Below expectations
Constantin Budescu1285104Fair
Abdulaziz Majrashi2182300Below expectations
Amahl Pellegrino1557920Below expectations
Mohmad Atiah3052300Did not deliver
Waleed Hizam1042500Did not deliver
Abdulrahman Khalid Al Rio1541500Did not deliver
Muhannad Fallatah721400Did not deliver
Ramzi Sawlan *58400Investment
Mansour Almuwallad4300Did not deliver
Abdulaziz Al Aryani2000Did not deliver
Signings Report · Saudi Pro League 2020/21 · March 15, 2021