The Saudi Pro League’s summer spending operation is gathering momentum, and one of the most intriguing moves of the window has just taken a significant step forward, with consequences that ripple directly into Liverpool’s own transfer plans.
Al Ahli have been one of the most active clubs in global football this summer, operating with a clear strategic vision: rebuild the squad around elite attacking talent following the departure of Riyad Mahrez, whose decorated time in Jeddah is drawing to a close.
Finding a replacement of comparable quality and profile for an Algerian icon who spent years as one of the most technically gifted wide players on the planet is no small task.
But the club’s hierarchy believes they have found their man, and they are moving quickly to make it happen.
The complication for Liverpool is that they have been tracking the same player for weeks, viewing him as the most realistic alternative to RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande in the search for a left-footed right winger capable of filling the enormous creative void left by Mohamed Salah’s departure.
Reports in Portugal had placed Liverpool at the top of the queue, with the possibility of triggering a release clause very much on the table.
Now, a rival has arrived, and it is one with significantly fewer financial constraints.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Al Ahli have opened formal negotiations with Sporting CP over the signing of Francisco Trincao.
The Portuguese winger, 26, has just completed the finest season of his career — 13 goals and 18 assists in 53 appearances across all competitions, earning a place in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year for the second consecutive season.
The numbers speak to a player who has completed one of the most impressive reinventions in European football: from a €31 million Barcelona signing who struggled for consistency to the creative heartbeat of a Sporting CP side competing at the highest level.
Sporting renewed his contract until 2030 as recently as March, installing a €60 million release clause.
But the club is understood to be open to a sale at a negotiated figure between €40 million and €50 million — a threshold well within Al Ahli’s reach.
The Saudi club’s interest is specific: Romano confirms they see Trincao as the direct successor to Mahrez in their attack, a left-footed creator with the technical elegance and direct running to fill that role immediately.
For Liverpool, the development is an unwelcome one.
A separate complication has also emerged closer to home, with Rúben Amorim, now at AC Milan, believed to be pursuing a reunion with his former Sporting protégé through super-agent Jorge Mendes.
Trincao is currently at the World Cup with Portugal.
The decision on his future comes after the tournament.
The queue, however, is getting longer.
🚨🇸🇦 EXCLUSIVE: Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli are in advanced talks to sign Francisco Trincão from Sporting.
Negotations underway between clubs with player open to the move, fee could be in the region of €50m.
Trincão could be the replacement for Riyadh Mahrez at Al Ahli 🟢⚪️ pic.twitter.com/Kozshb5AwB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 5, 2026