According to press reports on Saturday, Al-Ittihad Jeddah is seeking to sign the young Portuguese player Rodrigo Mora to strengthen the ranks of “The Dean” for the new season after the team achieved a double this season. The Saudi club aims to bolster its lineup with a foreign player, especially since the team has not been notably active in the foreign transfer market so far, despite Mora being under contract with his club, which includes a release clause valued at 70 million euros. Meanwhile, the Saudi club has expressed its readiness to activate the release clause, making it the most expensive deal in “The Dean’s” history if completed officially. Mora (18 years old) is considered one of the most promising talents in Portuguese football, having debuted with Porto’s second team at the age of 15, becoming the youngest player in the club’s history. It is noteworthy that the most expensive deal so far was the signing of French winger Moussa Diaby, who joined from Aston Villa last summer for 60 million euros. Rodrigo Mora played 36 matches with Portuguese Porto last season, scoring 11 goals and providing 4 assists. Spanish newspaper “Sport” reported on Wednesday evening that losing the Saudi Super Cup will push Al-Ittihad to enter the summer transfer market strongly, starting with the signing of Spanish midfielder Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid. Al-Ittihad had exited the Saudi Super Cup in the semi-final round, following a 1-2 defeat to Al-Nassr. The Western newspaper noted that Dani Ceballos has been struggling with exclusion from the starting lineup in recent months, having only played a few minutes during the royal team’s first match against Osasuna.
