Inzaghi shocks three talents at Al-Hilal: what's the story?

A decisive decision

Al-Hilal have sorted out several of their young players, registering French forward Simon Bouabre and Turkish defender Yusuf Akcicek in the under-21 squad for the new season. The move hands the coaching staff extra options over the coming months.

According to a special source for "Arriyadiyah", registering Bouabre and Akcicek with the under-21s lets them feature in the "Joue" elite league while keeping the door open for first-team call-ups under the current regulations.

All of this comes with a key rule now on hold. The condition restricting the additional player list to Saudis and those born in Saudi Arabia has been pushed back to the 2028-2029 season, giving Al-Hilal far more scope to register and use their young foreign players.

Right-back Mohammed Al-Sarnukh also made the list. A recent arrival during the current summer window, he joins the under-21 group alongside several players who took part in the team's overseas camp in Austria.

Saud Haroun, Rayan Al-Ghamdi, Saad Al-Mutairi, Abdulaziz Jarmoosh, Saleh Barnawi and Ibrahim Al-Hamlan round out the rest of the list, part of Al-Hilal's push to give these players more room to develop and play within the under-21 category.

Akcicek arrived from Turkey's Fenerbahce in August 2025 on a four-year deal. Bouabre signed last February from NEOM, penning a contract that runs until the summer of 2029.

The arrangement gives Al-Hilal real flexibility with their young talent. The club can use the players in the under-21 league while keeping the option to promote them to the first team, a move that sits neatly within "the Boss's" plan to develop players and keep plenty of options across the squad.