Ivorian star coming back to Europe

Things are not going according to plan for Monaco in terms of selling players: the Principality club were open to selling Eliesse Ben Seghir, Maghnes Akliouche, Breel Embolo… however, since none of those deals are even close to being finalized, the French club’s management had to react quickly and accept a somewhat surprising offer from Al Ahli for captain Denis Zakaria (28). Pressed by Franck Kessie’s (28) desire to return to Europe, the Saudis began their search for his replacement several weeks ago. Their first target was Benfica’s Florentino Luís (25), but then almost out of nowhere, practically overnight, news emerged that the Jeddah club had turned to the Swiss international. And not only that — but a preliminary agreement has been reached, with Zakaria set to move to Al Ahli in a 45,000,000 transfer.

French outlet L’Équipe reports that the reason for such a swift agreement — or rather Monaco’s quick acceptance — lies in the club’s poor “bloodwork.” Specifically, due to finances being out of sync with Ligue 1 regulations, the Principality side faces the same fate as Lyon, who only narrowly avoided being expelled from the top division. That is why an injection of fresh capital from the market is urgently needed. And Zakaria’s departure will provide exactly that…Denis Zakaria arrived at Monaco from Juventus for 20,000,000 euros, he is already 28 years old, and from that perspective this is not a bad deal at all. But it is equally true that Adi Hutter will hardly be able to find a proper replacement within just two weeks.

Akliouche is enjoying in Monaco and doesn’t want to leave

The reliable defensive midfielder will become Al Ahli’s second most expensive signing in history, behind Galeno from Porto, who cost 50,000,000 last year, and ahead of Ivan Toney from Brentford, for whom they paid 42,000,000. This August, the three-time Saudi champions and reigning AFC Champions League winners also bought Enzo Millot from Stuttgart for 28,000,000. As for departures, Jeddah have already seen Gabri Veiga, Roberto Firmino, Allan Saint-Maximin, Ezgjan Alioski, Alex Telles, and Marcao leave the club. The aforementioned Franck Kessie is expected to be next, as interest in him is plentiful. Milan and Juventus have both been after him for some time. According to reports from Italy, the Bianconeri are currently the closest to securing his signature.