Al-Ittihad are closing in on one of the headline moves of their summer rebuild, with a deal for Japan international Ritsu Doan now effectively in place.
According to Saudi outlet Al-Riyadiah, the Jeddah giants have reached an agreement with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt for the attacker, leaving only minor contractual details to be ironed out before the transfer becomes official. The announcement is expected once those final formalities are signed off.
This is not just another name through the door. It is a direct response.
Moussa Diaby’s departure to Bayer Leverkusen ripped a hole in Al-Ittihad’s attacking structure and stripped “the Dean” of one of their most prominent figures of the current project. The club’s hierarchy moved quickly, targeting a player who could not only cover those duties but stretch the play and offer fresh combinations in the final third.
Doan fits that brief. Comfortable across several attacking positions, the Japanese international brings with him a bank of European experience and a reputation for intelligent movement and sharp end product. For an Al-Ittihad side seeking to reshape its identity after a turbulent summer, he arrives as a ready-made piece rather than a long-term gamble.
The pressure to get this one right has been obvious. A major clear-out has reshaped the squad, and the club’s management are intent on handing the coach a group capable of executing a more flexible, modern attacking plan. Doan’s versatility gives them options: wide on either flank, tucked inside, or operating between the lines, he offers different angles to an attack that too often looked predictable last season.
Al-Riyadiah report that agreement between Al-Ittihad and Eintracht Frankfurt is already done, with both clubs simply waiting on the last signatures before Doan can be unveiled in Jeddah. Inside the Roshn League, rivals are already bracing for another high-profile addition to a competition that continues to accelerate its global pull.
For Al-Ittihad supporters, the equation is simple. Diaby out, Doan in. A like-for-like on paper, perhaps, but also a chance to refresh the team’s attacking face and inject new energy into a side eager to move on from the names and narratives of the previous era.
Now they wait. For the official confirmation. For the first images of Ritsu Doan in Al-Ittihad colours. And for the moment he steps onto Saudi soil to begin writing the next chapter of “the Dean’s” evolving project.
