Al-Ahli Saudi have joined the growing list of clubs monitoring Fenerbahce teenager Sadiq Cherif, with Stuttgart and English sides Ipswich Town and Coventry City also linked with a move for the 19-year-old during the current transfer window.
The French forward is regarded as one of Fenerbahce’s most promising young players and has attracted interest from clubs in several countries. Turkish journalist Yagız Sabuncuoglu reported that Stuttgart are pursuing Cherif, while Ipswich Town and Coventry City had previously been identified as potential destinations.
Speaking on YouTube, the Turkish journalist said Fenerbahce should be able to sell Cherif without suffering a financial loss and could potentially make a profit from the transfer.
“I said the same thing when I first broke the news: sell Sadiq Cherif without suffering any financial loss, and you can even make a profit from this deal as well,” he said.
Sabuncuoglu added that he had previously revealed interest from both Ipswich Town and Coventry City, while also reporting the existence of two further offers.
“We previously broke the news of Ipswich Town and Coventry’s interest in the player, and I added another piece of information at the time about two additional offers; one was from a Saudi club and the other from the German Bundesliga,” he said.
“We revealed a few days ago that the German club was Stuttgart, while the other team was Al-Ahli Saudi.”
The latest developments come after changes to the Saudi Pro League’s regulations concerning the registration of foreign and young players. According to Sabuncuoglu, those amendments have made Cherif a particularly attractive target for Saudi clubs, describing him as the “golden boy” and their leading strategic objective.
The revised rules are intended to give clubs greater flexibility in using young players immediately, both within their first teams and across youth age groups. That could offer Cherif the opportunity to move to a new league while seeking regular playing time, rather than remaining limited to sporadic appearances.
“Because of this regulation change, clubs can now immediately field two players in the lower age groups and two players in the first team under the young-player rule,” Sabuncuoglu said.
“This means the two young players currently at most clubs in the first team will become surplus to requirements or be replaced.”
The regulatory changes could therefore increase the competition for Cherif’s signature, with Al-Ahli Saudi and Stuttgart representing different potential routes for the teenager. A move to Saudi Arabia could place him in a system with increased opportunities for young players across first-team and academy football, while a transfer to Germany would come after Stuttgart emerged as the Bundesliga club behind one of the additional offers.
Cherif’s possible departure would give Fenerbahce the chance to generate income from a player who has already become the subject of interest from clubs in England, Germany and Saudi Arabia. No agreement or completed transfer has been reported, but the number of interested teams has continued to grow during the current window.
