Al-Ittihad will approach the 2026 summer transfer window with the aim of building a squad capable of competing strongly for trophies after a disappointing 2025-26 campaign.
The Saudi club ended the season without winning any silverware and secured only a place in the play-off round for the AFC Champions League Elite. That outcome has increased the importance of the next transfer market, with Al-Ittihad looking to strengthen its squad and return to the fight for major honours.
The club’s plans for the summer are being shaped by the desire to create a team that can challenge more convincingly in the coming season. Al-Ittihad are therefore entering the market with an ambitious approach, as they seek to address the shortcomings exposed during the previous campaign.
The 2025-26 season proved frustrating for Al-Ittihad. Despite reaching the play-off stage for the AFC Champions League Elite, the team did not achieve any other success. Qualification for that stage represents the club’s only notable outcome from the campaign, leaving the squad and its recruitment strategy under scrutiny ahead of the new season.
The summer window is consequently expected to be important for the club’s sporting direction. Al-Ittihad want to use it to assemble a side capable of competing for titles rather than settling for a limited qualification outcome. Their stated objective is to enter the next campaign with greater strength and a clearer ability to challenge at the top.
The available information focuses on the club’s overall transfer strategy rather than naming individual arrivals. It also indicates that departures from the squad will form part of the summer planning. The full list of players leaving Al-Ittihad, like the names of incoming signings, is not specified in the source material.
For now, the central message is that Al-Ittihad intend to make the transfer window a key part of their response to an underwhelming season. The club’s failure to win anything in 2025-26, combined with the fact that it only reached the AFC Champions League Elite play-off round, has created a clear need for improvement.
Al-Ittihad will therefore begin the summer market seeking changes that can help transform their prospects. The priority is to build a squad with the quality and depth required to compete for trophies in the next campaign, while also reviewing which players should remain with the team.
Further details of the club’s summer 2026 deals and departures are not included in the information provided. What is clear is that Al-Ittihad’s transfer policy will be viewed through the wider ambition of rebuilding their competitive level after a season in which they failed to secure a major achievement.
