Khamis Al-Zahrani Warns Aouar and En-Nesyri at Al-Ittihad

Al-Ittihad great Khamis Al-Zahrani has fired a blunt warning at Houssem Aouar and Youssef En-Nesyri, urging the high-profile duo to walk away from the Jeddah giants before the new season begins.

The former midfield leader, speaking to Al-Arabiya, painted a stark picture of a club racing against the clock, short on depth and still trying to understand the demands of new German coach Jens Wissing.

“They can’t give him what he wants”

Al-Zahrani did not circle around the issue. He went straight to the heart of Wissing’s tactical plan.

“Al-Ittihad is heading into a very big season, but it suffers from a problem in depth, especially with the ideas of the new German coach Jens Wissing,” he said, underlining the gap between the squad’s current profile and the coach’s blueprint.

For him, the midfield is the fault line.

“Al-Ittihad needs great depth in midfield,” he explained. “Neither (Houssem) Aouar nor Fabinho nor (Youssef) En-Nesyri can perform the roles the coach is expected to demand of them, which involve direct play, pressing and quick transition.”

In other words, the stars do not fit the system. Not as Wissing wants it.

Under scrutiny and out of time

The tone hardened as Al-Zahrani pushed for decisions, not deliberations.

He stressed that Fabinho, Aouar and En-Nesyri are all under the microscope, with the Brazilian’s situation already precarious. “Al-Ittihad needs midfielders, with Fabinho, Aouar and En-Nesyri coming under the coach's scrutiny, so that he can take the appropriate decision on them as soon as possible, especially since Fabinho's contract has already ended,” he added.

The message was clear: the club cannot afford to carry players who do not align with Wissing’s aggressive, high-tempo demands. Not in a season he repeatedly described as “very big.”

“These matters require speed in decision-making, in addition to quality in selection,” Al-Zahrani continued, pointing to a squad that has now been fully assessed by the new coach. “The coach has now got to know the players, put his finger on the wound, and must plug the gaps with distinguished signings.”

The pressure, in his view, has shifted firmly onto the recruitment team and the technical staff.

Two midfielders targeted, Aouar in limbo

Amid the criticism, Al-Zahrani did offer a glimpse of the club’s transfer plan. He expects reinforcements in the middle of the park.

“What I know is that Al-Ittihad will bring in midfield players, one of them a replacement for Fabinho, and the other playing in the same way as (Mamadou) Doumbia,” he revealed.

That points to a double move: one direct successor to Fabinho’s role, and another with the energy and profile of Mamadou Doumbia. It also leaves Aouar’s future hanging in the balance.

“Aouar's situation remains linked to the team's squad and the number of foreign players,” Al-Zahrani said, tying the Algerian’s fate to the foreign quota and the broader restructuring of the team.

For a player once seen as a marquee arrival, that is a brutal reality check.

A “thorny” crisis for a rookie coach

Al-Zahrani’s broader assessment of the club’s position was no less severe.

“Al-Ittihad faces a thorny matter, and time is extremely tight, especially in light of the financial difficulties,” he warned. The club, he suggested, is trying to rebuild, refresh and compete at the highest level while constrained by budget and timing.

Then came perhaps his sharpest observation: the man tasked with steering this overhaul is still learning how to handle a club of this magnitude.

He pointed directly at Wissing’s relative inexperience: “In addition to the presence of a new coach who does not possess great experience in leading a big team the size of Al-Ittihad club.”

So the equation is unforgiving. A demanding season ahead, a squad that does not fully fit the coach’s ideas, financial strain, a foreign quota squeeze, and a coach still proving himself at elite level.

In that landscape, Al-Zahrani’s call for Aouar and En-Nesyri to move on is not just criticism of individuals. It is a challenge to the entire project: will Al-Ittihad reshape quickly enough to match the scale of its own ambition?