Al-Qadsiah rejects Al-Ghannam's excessive demands: Al-Ittihad enters the picture

Personal terms scupper the deal

Al-Qadsiah wanted to bring one of their own back home. Money has got in the way. A deal that looked close to done just days ago has now stalled over financial terms.

Sources have told Saudi newspaper "Arriyadiyah" that Al-Qadsiah have frozen their talks with Al-Ettifaq winger Khalid Al-Ghannam after failing to agree the player's personal terms.

Al-Qadsiah had struck an initial agreement with Al-Ettifaq around two weeks ago to buy the international winger's contract this summer, the paper says, before negotiations opened with the 25-year-old himself.

Those demands proved the sticking point. Al-Qadsiah's management branded Al-Ghannam's financial terms "prohibitive" and pulled the plug on the talks, shelving for now the idea of re-signing a player who left them for Al-Nassr six years ago.

The collapse comes with Al-Ittihad still circling. "Arriyadiyah" reported on Sunday that the Jeddah club had returned to the table with Al-Ettifaq after a break of several weeks.

Al-Ittihad had pushed talks to an advanced stage last month before deciding to pause them, only to come back and try again to get the deal over the line.

Al-Ettifaq, for their part, have no objection to selling what remains of Al-Ghannam's contract, which runs until the summer of 2028, hoping to raise the cash to fund fresh signings before the window shuts.

Al-Ghannam has been around. He moved from Al-Qadsiah to Al-Nassr at the start of 2020, then spent a loan spell at Al-Fateh until the end of the 2022-2023 season. He went back to Al-Nassr for six months, joined Al-Ettifaq at the start of 2024, and was loaned to Al-Hilal two seasons ago.

The international winger enjoyed a standout campaign in the latest Roshn League season, playing 32 of 34 matches and racking up 13 goals and 7 assists before joining up with the Saudi Arabia squad.