Jens Wissing's Winter Transfer Plans for Al-Ittihad
Jens Wissing has not come to Jeddah to simply inherit a squad. He wants to author it.
The Al-Ittihad head coach has already started drawing up a winter transfer plan that, if the club backs it, will leave a clear fingerprint of his ideas on the “Dean’s” dressing room. The German is pushing for a reshaped group built around his own technical demands and a sharper competitive edge.
According to information obtained by “Kooora” from a source close to the club, Wissing is preparing to move on from at least three players in the January window. The intention is blunt: clear space, clear wages, and open the door for signings he believes can execute his vision across key areas of the pitch.
Exit List
At the top of that exit list sits Saudi forward Saleh Al-Shehri. Wissing, the source indicated, wants a younger centre-forward to lead the line, a profile he views as essential for the intensity and mobility he expects in the final third. Al-Shehri’s status has shifted from option to expendable as the coach sharpens his plans.
The pressure will not fall on the striker alone. Within days, Wissing is expected to submit a detailed technical report to the club’s hierarchy, assessing several members of the squad and outlining who fits his project and who does not. That document is anticipated to include recommendations on Moath Faqeehi and Hamed Al-Ghamdi, with both names joining Al-Shehri among the leading candidates to depart in January.
Those decisions are not yet final. The same source stressed that any late change in the technical staff’s thinking, or a shift in circumstances on the pitch, could still alter the fate of the trio. For now, though, they stand on the edge of the winter exit door.
This is not a cosmetic overhaul. Al-Ittihad are chasing heavy prizes this season, with the AFC Champions League Elite and the Roshn Saudi Pro League at the top of their agenda. The club’s leadership understands that those ambitions demand a squad trimmed of passengers and stocked with players who can handle the weight of that pursuit.
Wissing’s report will help decide who carries that weight into the second half of the campaign – and who watches the chase from somewhere else.
