The Al Shabab Post
Market10 Jul 2028
Al Shabab get their man
The chase for Hamdan Abdulrahman ended with $1.6M changing hands and Al Jazira out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad10 Jul 2028
A falling-out at Al Shabab
Allan Nyom and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Al Shabab
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sultan Saeed was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces10 Jul 2028
The town asked, and Al Shabab paid $1.6M
Hamdan Abdulrahman was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $1.6M. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
Botafogo tell Al Shabab: Cristhian Loor is not for sale
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
Al Shabab ask about Mohammed Al-Yami
A loan enquiry to Al-Qadisiyah: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market10 Jul 2028
Al Shabab and Nasser Mabkhout are talking past each other
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Market10 Jul 2028
Sultan Saeed linked with a move away
The name of Sultan Saeed keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Al Shabab say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout10 Jul 2028
The manager makes Nasser Mabkhout a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Al Shabab. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
- Squad Allan Nyom has company in his position
- The dugout Bandar Hassan knocks on the manager’s door
- Market Khalid Al Naqbi leaves for nothing