Al-Hilal are set to add United Arab Emirates star Omar Abdulrahamn to their star-studded squad with reports that the 26-year-old is ready to pen a new contract with
Al-Ain but only on condition that he can join the Riyadh giants for a season-long loan.
The forward, long regarded as the Middle East’s best player and the 2016 Asian player of the year, has long been the subject of transfer speculation with European clubs eyeing the UAE’s creative force.
However, Abdulrahman has remained committed to Al-Ain. That appears to remain the case, but while he has said that he will never play for another club in the Emirates, he is likely to sign for Al-Hilal for a season having extended his contact with Al-Ain.
When contacted by Arab News, Al-Hilal officials remained tight-lipped over the possibility of signing West Asia’s biggest star. Abdulrahman, however, did little to quell speculation in an interview with Arabic YouTube late last week.
“I reached Al-Ain and I’ve been blessed since then,” said the Emirati international. “Al-Ain was the only one. And there will never be any other club for me here in the UAE.”
The addition of Abdulrahman to the squad will boost the Riyadh giants who have enjoyed a good pre-season camp in Austria, where returning stars such as Carlos Eduardo and Omar Khribin have blended well with new signings such as Andre Carrillo.
The season-long loan signing, a goalscorer for Peru at the recent World Cup, said that the training camp had gone well and the mood ahead of the new season was positive.
“We have a lot of skilled players and I met some of them during the friendly game that we played against the Saudi Arabia national team,” the Peru international said.
“I guess that working all together and applying the strategy and tactics under the supervision of our coach, in addition to the individual skills of each one of us, will lead us to be better during future games.
“During the last friendly the team had more chemistry than the previous games, because we started to work together a short while ago and have long way to go. We are working to make things better,” he said.
The Benfica player, who played 28 times for Premier League outfit Watford last season, revealed the presence of new boss Jorge Jesus in the Al-Hilal dugout was a big reason behind his decision to move to
the side. Jesus, who joined the Riyadh giants earlier this summer, is an ex-Benfica coach and knows Carrillo well.
“For me, joining this club is a major step in my career,” the 27-year-old said. “Obviously it is a big club; it is the biggest in Saudi Arabia and Asia. My meeting with the president in Madrid was very important.
“The coach, Jorge Jesus, has played a major role in my transfer to Al-Hilal. I am very happy to be with this club and it is clear that the club’s ambitions are high — they eagerly want to win. We will work together to achieve this.
“The fans have showed us full support — this proves that I came to play with a big club. I have received thousands
of comments with blue hearts. I am very happy to be here,” Carrillo said.
Last night Al-Hilal’s final match in Austria saw them draw with Serie A side Udinese. A Mukhtar Fallatah strike 15 minutes from time cancelled out Darwin Machis’ goal for the Italians.