JEDDAH — Michael Emenalo, director of football in the Saudi Professional League (SPL), said that he got calls from foreign players wanting to join the revamped SPL project after the end of the season's opening match. In the opening match, Roberto Firmino and Riyadh Mahrez played for Al-Ahli, which won over Al-Hazm. Emenalo, the former coach of Chelsea, was in Jeddah to watch the opening match of the Saudi League. "We were all hoping and praying that you'd get a good spectacle yesterday," said Carlo Nohra, the league's chief operating officer, after the opening night match. As the Saudi transfer market deadline continues until September 7, attention now turns to further recruitment. Speaking to The Athletic, the sports website of the New York Times, Emenalo said that clubs are still "working frantically" to improve their squads. If more stars are to be recruited it is up to him to smooth away their concerns about not just the weather, but also national team implications and fear of criticism if they do sign up, as Henderson experienced. "The biggest concern is narrative," said Emenalo. "We have to demolish some of these very outrageous narratives out there that there is something wrong with the Saudi league or with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. That's what they worry about," he pointed out. "But I cannot tell you how many calls or messages I got last night after players stayed up to watch this game because they wanted to see and after they saw it, thinking, 'You know what, it's not what I expected and I would love to be part of it.'" Asked about bringing in stars like Kylian Mbappe, he said: "I would love to have Kylian Mbappe here, I would love to have Harry Kane here, the league would like to have all the top players." Responding to whether the Premier League is getting worried after seeing the opener for Al Ahli, Emenalo said: "I don't think they are scared. The European leagues, especially the Premier League, are very strong, entrenched, they have no reason to be scared. I do feel they consider our presence to be disruptive," he added.
