Riyad Mahrez has completed his £30million move from Manchester City to Al Ahli which means the road is now clear for the Saudi club to put the finishing touches on the deal to take Allan Saint-Maximin from Newcastle United.
It has taken a while for the Allan Saint-Maximin deal to be formally announced by Al Ahli, but given the Riyad Mahrez deal has only just been formally completed it is no surprise that there’s been no announcement about the deal taking Maxi from Newcastle.
Fabrizio Romano today confirmed that the £30million transfer of Mahrez to Al Ahli is complete, saying: “Official, confirmed. Riyad Mahrez joins Al Ahli on permanent transfer from Man City for £30m fee
“Contract until June 2027, agreed days ago — deal finally sealed.”
The Saint-Maximin deal should be announced soon after Mahrez
It seems that things move a bit slower for Al Ahli if it takes them this long to announce a transfer, but from a Newcastle point of view it’s a good thing as it means that the Saint-Maximin deal is still likely to go ahead.
It was always suggested that Saint-Maximin’s deal would be finalised after everything was wrapped up with Mahrez with Romano tweeting last week: “Al Ahli have booked medical tests for Allan Saint-Maximin — as deal will be completed after Mahrez.”
The deal, also believed to be around the £30million mark is, as Eddie Howe said, to offset the transfers that Newcastle have already made and not, as was believed, a one-in-one-out thing for Harvey Barnes.
Newcastle want more incomings after Saint-Maximin departs
Saint-Maximin completed his Al Ahli medial in London four days ago and is now just waiting for everything to be signed off before being unveiled as Al Ahli’s latest signing following Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino thought the door.
As much as fans are moaning about the Saudi Pro League, with a front three of Saint-Maximin, Firmino and Mahrez, at one club, there’s no denying that it’s going to be entertaining to watch, especially given the rest of the talent that’s headed over there.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see how long after Saint-Maximin’s transfer is announced the stories linking Newcastle with more players heat up again after a relatively quiet week.
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