SigningLab · Annual Report

Signing Accuracy — Saudi Pro League 2023/24

Published on January 8, 2024

Executive Summary

234
Real signings
231
Evaluated
46%
Clubs' average hit rate
69
Successful
110
Unsuccessful

In total we identified 234 real signings by the clubs of Saudi Pro League in the 2023/24 season — academy promotions, loan returns, internal moves and transfers that never went through are excluded. Of these, 231 are included in the hit-rate calculation; 3 are youth investments (under-23 with no game time), classified separately. Signings without relevant minutes in the season count as unsuccessful.

Club Ranking

ClubLeague positionSigningsEvaluatedSuccessfulFairUnsuccessfulHit rate %
1Al-Nassr77511
79%
2Al-Fateh55311
70%
3Al-Hilal Saudi FC1010532
65%
4Al Wehda Club13º44211
62%
5Al-Ettifaq1514815
61%
6Al Shabab1111362
54%
7Al-Fayha99414
50%
8Al-Ahli Jeddah1717728
47%
9Al Khaleej Saihat12º1615627
47%
10Al-Raed11º99243
44%
11Al Taawon1111416
41%
12Al Okhdood15º1616457
41%
13Al Taee17º1414428
36%
14Al-Ittihad FC1515258
30%
15Al Riyadh14º23235315
28%
16Damac10º1313238
27%
17Abha16º1515159
23%
18Al-Hazm18º24232615
22%

The difference between Signings and Evaluated are youth investments (under-23 with no game time in the season), classified separately. Signings without relevant minutes are unsuccessful (Did not deliver).

Season Highlights

The ten signings with the greatest technical impact of the season, according to the Player Impact Score (PIS).

PlayerClubPosMinG+AAvg ratingRating
Riyad MahrezAl-Ahli JeddahM279111+127.78Excellent
MalcomAl-Hilal Saudi FCM265415+67.74Excellent
Rúben NevesAl-Hilal Saudi FCM26873+127.75Excellent
Lucas ZelarayánAl-FatehM26708+97.64Excellent
Aleksandar MitrovićAl-Hilal Saudi FCF233428+57.59Excellent
Sergej Milinković-SavićAl-Hilal Saudi FCM244511+107.55Excellent
Georges-Kévin N'KoudouDamacM260015+57.52Excellent
Fashion SakalaAl-FayhaF269419+67.34Excellent
OtávioAl-NassrM241910+57.66Excellent
TozéAl-HazmM30089+77.30Excellent

Methodology

Club assessment — the universe of signings

The report considers exclusively genuine signings for the first-team squad, identified by the player's effective incorporation into the group between seasons. Excluded from the universe are: academy promotions, loan returns, internal administrative moves and transfers recorded but never completed. The aim is to measure the quality of market decisions — and those alone.

Player Impact Score (PIS)

Each evaluated signing receives a score from 0 to 100 that combines four observable technical dimensions: individual performance (average match ratings over the season), output (goals, assists and decisive actions adjusted for game time), collective performance (starting status and correlation with the club's results) and availability (volume of matches, adjusted for interruptions). High-impact players with reduced game time are promoted through an alternative efficiency criterion.

Outcome classification

The rating tiers are: Excellent and Good (successful signings — a full point in the index), Fair (intermediate performance — half a point) and Below expectations / Did not deliver (unsuccessful signings). Two categories sit outside the calculation, for distinct reasons: Injury (a serious injury prevented a fair assessment) and Investment (an under-23 player with low game time — the return depends on development and cannot be counted for or against the club in this cycle). Signings that did not reach relevant game time in the season are classified as unsuccessful, reflecting the sporting cost of the decision.

A note on scope

This is SigningLab's public, simplified model, developed for transparent retrospective market assessment. SigningLab's commercial solutions for partner clubs use a substantially larger set of variables and dedicated predictive mechanisms, and are not fully reflected in this document.

Appendix — Signings by club

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

Abha (15 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Ciprian Tătărușanu33297000Fair
Grzegorz Krychowiak33263891Good
Fabián Noguera33261530Fair
François Kamano31210821Fair
Saleh Al Qumayzi33191000Did not deliver
Ziyad Al-Sahafi27157310Did not deliver
Hassan Hashim Al Ali26129532Below expectations
Mohammed Naji28124800Did not deliver
Ibrahim Al-Zubaidi14123900Below expectations
Karl Toko Ekambi14115150Fair
Abdulelah Alshamary2697801Did not deliver
Marcel Tisserand1193100Below expectations
Ahmed Abdu1060312Fair
Ahmed Abdoh Jaber2239320Did not deliver
Mohammed Al Oufi1835001Did not deliver

Al Khaleej Saihat (16 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Pedro Rebocho34299203Good
Lisandro López31267620Good
Woo-Young Jung31265410Fair
Ivo Rodrigues30262512Good
Khaled Narey28240972Good
Ibrahim Šehić27240600Good
Mohamed Sherif32234361Good
Saeed Al Hamsal33223910Below expectations
Mansour Hamzi34169322Fair
Abdullah Al-Salem34105831Below expectations
Arif Al-Haydar2953301Did not deliver
Fwaz Altryes2742310Did not deliver
Bandar Al Mutairi3135100Did not deliver
Mohammed Adams1722800Did not deliver
Raed Ozaybi *9000Investment
Khaled Al-Semeiry0000Did not deliver

Al Okhdood (16 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Paulo Vítor33279001Fair
Solomon Kvirkvelia33278411Fair
Alex Collado33278343Excellent
Léandre Tawamba30252353Good
Andrei Burcă28239961Good
Saviour Godwin27224961Good
Saeed Al-Rabiei27224620Fair
Juan Pedroza28223812Fair
Florin Tănase29198523Fair
Awdh Faraj30169300Did not deliver
Hamed Al-Mansour22136512Below expectations
Hassan Al-Habib2873710Did not deliver
Ahmed Mostafa1832000Did not deliver
Abdulaziz Rahma1927000Did not deliver
Abdulrahman Khalid Al Rio2412100Did not deliver
Hussein Shaian9000Did not deliver

Al Riyadh (23 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Martín Campaña33292300Good
Birama Touré33289240Good
Didier N'Dong30253511Fair
Andre Gray26202072Good
Khalid Bin Shuwayyi31198210Below expectations
Ahmad Asiri30175600Did not deliver
Dino Arslanagić31174900Did not deliver
Knowledge Musona22172642Good
Saleh Al Abbas28158183Good
Hussain Ali Alnwaiqi20151900Below expectations
Yahia Al-Shehri23151904Fair
Abdulhadi Al-Harajin31143120Below expectations
Fahad Al-Reshedi34121300Did not deliver
Juanmi17105312Fair
Alin Toșca1988201Did not deliver
Mohammed Al Aqal2074111Below expectations
Ali Al-Zaqan2948811Did not deliver
Amiri Kurdi1631300Did not deliver
Abduallah Al-Dosari36400Did not deliver
Abdulrahman Al Yami85100Did not deliver
Rakan Najjar163100Did not deliver
Fahad Muneef2000Did not deliver
Majed Zaid3000Did not deliver

Al Shabab (11 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Gustavo Cuéllar30257500Good
Romain Saïss25220541Excellent
Yannick Carrasco24209377Excellent
Habib Diallo31202952Fair
Hamad Al Yami25197903Fair
Musab Al Juwayr1584732Fair
Mustafa Malaika1581000Did not deliver
Abdullah Radif2175630Fair
Ivan Rakitić858711Fair
Nawaf Al Sadi2948300Did not deliver
Vitinho840010Fair

Al Taawon (11 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Andrei Girotto28252030Good
Muath Faqeehi27174800Did not deliver
Waleed Al-Ahmed24174220Below expectations
Mateus Castro19162966Excellent
Musa Barrow21159062Excellent
Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi15114537Excellent
Ahmed Bahusayn33112012Below expectations
Cristian Guanca1586501Below expectations
Abdulfattah Adam Mohammed2281260Fair
Ebrahim Alshuyl953600Did not deliver
Malik Al Shammary2618810Did not deliver

Al Taee (14 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Robert Bauer33292512Good
Enzo Roco30263410Fair
Bernard Mensah302614142Excellent
Ibrahim Alnakhli32260810Fair
Andrei Cordea29219834Good
Virgil Misidjan29211643Good
Marko Dugandžić26161821Below expectations
Tariq Mohammed25145810Did not deliver
Rakan Shamlan26134221Below expectations
Moataz Al-Baqaawi33126000Did not deliver
Salman Al-Muwashar2796001Did not deliver
Abdulfattah Asiri2465800Did not deliver
Abdulrahman Al Harthi2856402Below expectations
Hassan Al-Amri1512700Did not deliver

Al Wehda Club (4 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Odion Ighalo312655150Excellent
Saeed Al Muwallad26217911Fair
Jawad El Yamiq23192030Good
Vito van Crooij24110700Did not deliver

Al-Ahli Jeddah (17 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Edouard Mendy33298800Fair
Riyad Mahrez3227911112Excellent
Franck Kessié312716104Excellent
Roger Ibañez30263630Good
Roberto Firmino32234596Excellent
Allan Saint-Maximin30233349Excellent
Firas Al-Buraikan272099137Excellent
Merih Demiral20159111Fair
Saad Yaslam Balobaid29146001Did not deliver
Gabri Veiga18128643Excellent
Abdullah Al-Amar20107010Did not deliver
Sumaihan Al-Nabit3298731Below expectations
Bassam Al-Hurayji2390100Did not deliver
Fahad Ayed Al-Rashidi3357501Did not deliver
Ryad Boudebouz214700Did not deliver
Ibrahim Al-Zubaidi124600Did not deliver
Abdullah Ateef3100Did not deliver

Al-Ettifaq (15 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Jack Hendry34306001Good
Georginio Wijnaldum29258265Excellent
Moussa Dembélé251945121Excellent
Demarai Gray23181343Excellent
Radhi Al-Oteibi27180401Fair
Hamdan Al-Shamrani29156711Below expectations
Jordan Henderson17152804Good
Álvaro Medrán15133612Good
Karl Toko Ekambi15133561Good
Seko Fofana14110522Good
Abdullah Madu12105500Below expectations
Haroune Camara1538311Did not deliver
Abdulrahman Alobud1417800Did not deliver
Khalid Al-Ghannam *118400Investment
Amin Al-Bukhari26000Did not deliver

Al-Fateh (5 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Lucas Zelarayán30267089Excellent
Ali Mukhtar27230303Good
Jason Denayer21168410Fair
Djaniny19107381Good
Abdullah Almogren1736700Did not deliver

Al-Fayha (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Fashion Sakala312694196Excellent
Ghislain Konan26224805Good
Henry Onyekuru272195103Excellent
Gojko Cimirot30218105Fair
Abdelhamid Sabiri19155157Excellent
Nawwaf Al Harthi3196410Did not deliver
Abdulraoof Al-Deqeel1747400Did not deliver
Ahmed Al-Kassar184500Did not deliver
Abdulrhman Al Anzi204000Did not deliver

Al-Hazm (24 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Tozé34300897Excellent
Bruno Viana28239120Fair
Paulo Ricardo27227230Fair
Aymen Dahmen29216001Below expectations
Faïz Selemani26212974Excellent
Mohammed Al-Thain32210250Fair
Muhammed Badammosi32208441Fair
Majed Mohammed26205602Fair
Vinícius23145720Fair
Júnior Moreno15119000Did not deliver
Talal Al-Absi28102700Did not deliver
Yousef Al-Shammari23101201Below expectations
Yazeed Al Bakr2597600Did not deliver
Nawaf Al-Habashi3290610Did not deliver
Basil Yousef Al-Sayyali2785800Did not deliver
Ben Traoré1278700Did not deliver
Mohammed Abusabaan2074800Did not deliver
Ryan Al-Mousa1665901Did not deliver
Turki Al-Mutairi1123300Did not deliver
Mansour Al Shammari1311800Did not deliver
Ammar Al Najjar149900Did not deliver
Khalil Al-Absi *104700Investment
Omar Al-Ruwaili84100Did not deliver
Francis Cann0000Did not deliver

Al-Hilal Saudi FC (10 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Bono31278200Fair
Rúben Neves322687312Excellent
Malcom312654156Excellent
Kalidou Koulibaly30264421Good
Sergej Milinković-Savić3124451110Excellent
Aleksandar Mitrović282334285Excellent
Renan Lodi1178301Fair
Hassan Al Tambakti2453100Did not deliver
Neymar320602Fair
Mohammed Al-Rubaie3000Did not deliver

Al-Ittihad FC (15 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
N'Golo Kanté30263925Excellent
Hassan Kadesh25205710Below expectations
Karim Benzema21174197Excellent
Fabinho19156311Fair
Luiz Felipe18139000Below expectations
Faisal Al-Ghamdi20135010Below expectations
Abdullah Al-Mayouf24108000Did not deliver
Fawaz Al-Sagour13107404Fair
Saleh Al-Amri3199832Fair
Jota1697840Fair
Saad Al-Mousa1070810Below expectations
Ahmed Al-Ghamdi1059221Fair
Sultan Farhan2349100Did not deliver
Mohammed Al-Mahasneh1645000Did not deliver
Hamed Al-Ghamdi1000Did not deliver

Al-Nassr (7 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Sadio Mané332672138Excellent
Marcelo Brozović30250348Excellent
Otávio292419105Excellent
Aymeric Laporte27239441Good
Alex Telles28217324Good
Seko Fofana1477001Fair
Raghed Al-Najjar2129600Did not deliver

Al-Raed (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Oumar Gonzalez31266530Good
André Moreira29262800Fair
Mamadou Loum29246500Fair
Hamad Al-Jayzani32218404Fair
Amir Saâyoud28215965Excellent
Mathias Normann23182911Fair
Abdullah Al Yousif2471000Did not deliver
Firas Al-Ghamdi3354400Did not deliver
Nasser Maje Hadhood51600Did not deliver

Damac (13 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Georges-Kévin N'Koudou312600155Excellent
Nicolae Stanciu27231647Excellent
Alhwsawi Sanousi Mohammed24199302Fair
Tarek Hamed22196002Fair
Assan Ceesay20113061Fair
Noor Al-Rashidi2998600Did not deliver
Abdulaziz Al-Bishi1792801Below expectations
Sultan Faqihi2770910Did not deliver
Abdullah Al-Qahtani2352802Below expectations
Fahad Al-Johani2443300Did not deliver
Abdulbasit Hawsawi1333400Did not deliver
Abdulrahman Al-Obaid1416501Did not deliver
Hassan Abu Sharara412500Did not deliver