Al-Ittihad Pursues Ritsu Doan as Diaby Successor in Jeddah

Al-Ittihad are moving to fill one of the biggest holes in their squad – and they have turned to the Bundesliga to do it.

The Jeddah giants have reached an agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt for Japan international Ritsu Doan, according to Saudi outlet Al-Riyadiah, with only minor contractual details left before the deal becomes official. The move would bring an end to Doan’s current European chapter and drop him straight into the intensity of the Roshn League.

This is not a luxury signing. It is a response.

Moussa Diaby’s departure to Bayer Leverkusen ripped a key attacking piece out of “the Dean’s” structure, forcing the club into the market for a forward who can both replace and redefine that role. Al-Ittihad’s answer has been to chase a player who offers more than one fixed position and more than one predictable pattern.

Doan fits that brief.

Comfortable across several attacking zones, the Japanese star can operate wide, drift inside, or slide between the lines, giving his coach different looks in the final third. His years in Europe have hardened his game, sharpened his decision-making and exposed him to high-tempo, high-pressure football – exactly the kind of profile Al-Ittihad want as they attempt to turn a turbulent summer into a new beginning.

The agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt is, as reported, already in place. Both clubs are now simply working through the last formalities before Al-Ittihad can present Doan in their colours. The timing is no accident: the club’s hierarchy has been driving an aggressive recruitment push after a period of major upheaval, determined to hand the coach a squad capable of executing a refreshed identity.

This is a reset, not a patch-up job.

Doan’s expected arrival stands as one of the centrepieces of that rebuild. He is being lined up not just to follow Diaby numerically in the squad list, but to succeed him as a creative and direct threat, someone who can unlock tight games and stretch defensive blocks that have grown increasingly savvy against Saudi Arabia’s traditional powers.

For the supporters in Jeddah, the equation is simple. A prominent name has gone. Another, with a very different football education, is on his way to take up the challenge.

The deal now sits on the brink of completion. Once those final signatures land, Al-Ittihad’s attack will look very different – and Ritsu Doan will walk into a club expecting him to help define the next era, not just replace the last one.