Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal’s preparations for the new season are really shifting into top gear. Less than two weeks after announcing that Jorge Jesus, who managed the club in 2018-19, had been reappointed as head coach, the 18-time champions jumped back into the transfer market to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, the club announced on Wednesday evening.
The Serbian international is perhaps not the biggest name among those who have made the move to Saudi Arabia of late but it is an intriguing move nonetheless and could prove to be an excellent addition as the Blues look to reclaim the league trophy they see as being rightfully theirs.
After eight seasons with Lazio in Serie A, 28-year-old Sergej is now ready for a new challenge, it appears, and has the potential to become a real leader for Al-Hilal, who could have done with his services last season.
If the 6ft 4in Serbian, who has a former professional footballer for a father and former professional basketball player for a mother, had been around in midfield during the previous campaign, when the team had to contend with injuries to Salman Al-Faraj and the earlier absence of Mohammed Kanno, perhaps the Riyadh giants, who finished a distant third in the league, would have provided more of a challenge to champions Al-Ittihad, and perhaps even overcome Urawa Reds of Japan in the final of the AFC Champions League.
Given the physical demands of competing in several competitions — including the league, the Champions League, the King’s Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup — a player such as Sergej might have proved worth his weight in gold. He still might.
His versatility in midfield is as important as his towering physical presence. In short, he is the complete package of a modern midfielder and can do almost anything. Technically, he is excellent and can hold his own in that regard against the very best in the world.
More than that, though, he is a potential leader in the middle of the field. Sergej is not only capable of protecting the defense, he can also play the role of holding midfielder to help stabilize things when required. In short, he has the ability to help out anywhere he is needed and do a great job.
As a real box-to-box midfielder, he really offers a huge amount going forward and usually manages a goal tally in double figures each season. This is hugely impressive in a top-class league such as Serie A, and he often contributes a similar number of assists.
Whoever plays up front for Al-Hilal in the new season, they will love having a player such as Sergej behind them. He is also excellent in the air and will add to the threat his team his team poses in set pieces, as well as improving their ability to defend aerial assaults. If he was able to score regularly in Italy then he should be able to do the same in Saudi Arabia.
All of this explains why he has been in such demand. Manchester United were previously linked with him (they were reportedly ready to pay considerably more for him than Al-Hilal are said to have agreed), and this summer there were reports that Chelsea wanted to bring him to London. There have also been whispers from elsewhere; at some point or another in the past few years, he has been on the shopping lists of many a team in England, Spain and elsewhere.
It is also notable that in signing him, Al-Hilal have plumped for a much younger player than some of the other big names who have arrived in the country of late. At 28, Sergej is at his peak and still has a number of good years ahead of him.
He should love playing with Ruben Neves, who at 26 is two years younger and brings creativity and guile to the middle of the field. Then there is the pleasant thought of Kalidou Koulibaly behind them both in the center of defense.
The Al-Hilal midfield is starting to have a great all-round look, featuring creativity, energy, physicality, technique and leadership. It certainly looks very exciting on paper and it will be interesting to see what happens and whether it all comes together on the field.
It does not seem long since last season ended and it is still relatively early in the summer break but with Al-Hilal now at their Austrian training camp, there is a sense that the new campaign is just around the corner. Preparations are clearly moving quickly and the Blues are starting to look very dangerous indeed.
