Anis Hadj Moussa is now keen on joining Al-Ittihad, despite previously prioritising a move to one of Europe’s major leagues, as the Saudi club makes a late attempt to sign the Feyenoord winger.
Feyenoord had appeared to have firmly rejected the possibility of selling the Algeria international, but a renewed approach from Al-Ittihad has changed the situation in the final hours of the Saudi transfer window.
According to ESPN Netherlands, Hadj Moussa and his representatives now want the transfer to Djeddah to go ahead. The 24-year-old had initially favoured continuing his career in Europe but is understood to have changed his position after Al-Ittihad significantly improved its proposal.
The player’s camp is also reported to have referred to previous discussions with Feyenoord about the conditions under which the club would allow him to leave. That claim has been disputed by Feyenoord technical director Devy Rigaux, who says no agreement was ever put in writing.
Rigaux recently offered a different account of Hadj Moussa’s intentions. He said the winger had told him he did not want to move to Saudi Arabia and that, if he were to leave Feyenoord, his preferred destination would be one of Europe’s five major domestic leagues.
Al-Ittihad now appears to have presented an offer capable of changing that view. ESPN reports that Hadj Moussa would be offered a particularly lucrative five-year contract in Saudi Arabia, while Foot Mercato says the proposed deal would run for four seasons.
The Saudi club has also raised its bid for Feyenoord. Its initial offer was understood to be worth about €25m to €30m, but ESPN now puts the figure at close to €35m. Foot Mercato reports an even higher proposal of €37.5m.
Al-Ittihad manager Jens Wissing is said to view Hadj Moussa as a priority signing and is pushing strongly for the deal to be completed.
That level of investment leaves Feyenoord facing a difficult decision. The Dutch club would find it hard to ignore such a substantial fee, but its own transfer window has already closed, meaning it would not be able to recruit a conventional replacement.
Rigaux had warned that he would do “tout” to keep Hadj Moussa, largely because of the difficulty of replacing him at this stage of the transfer period.
A move to Saudi Arabia would disappoint many Algeria supporters. Hadj Moussa appeared ready to take another step forward in Europe after a season in which he scored 14 goals and provided seven assists in 40 matches.
His decision is also being assessed in the context of Algeria’s national team. Since Riyad Mahrez retired from international football, Hadj Moussa has emerged as one of the leading candidates to succeed him on the right wing.
Fares Ghedjemis, who came close to joining Monaco, and Mohamed Bachir Belloumi, who has recently extended his contract at Hull City, are among the other players being considered as possible successors for the Fennecs.
Hadj Moussa has now made his preference known. The remaining question is whether he can persuade Feyenoord to approve the transfer before the Saudi market closes on 6 September.