Who is the biggest winner? Roshn mercato smiles on the top four and turns its back on Al-Nassr!

Al-Ahli ranked among the busiest of the big clubs, signing Abu Bakr Sidi Kinte, Mishal Al-Mutairi, Eduard Spertsyan, Naif Masoud, Francisco Trincao, Abdullah Radif, Saeed Baatiyah, Ibrahima Diaby and Artem Bondarenko.

The list strikes a clear balance between local talent and foreign recruits, with names capable of lifting the attacking and technical quality. Trincao, Spertsyan and Ibrahima Diaby lead the way.

Yet the biggest question concerns what the team has lost, above all after the departures of Riyad Mahrez and Franck Kessie. Al-Ahli's transfer window won't be judged solely on what the new faces deliver. It will be judged on whether they can fill the void left by players who carried real weight in the system.

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Al-Hilal have opted for a wide-ranging overhaul, adding Abdullah Al-Anzi, Sabri Dahel, Mohammed Al-Owais, Mohammed Al-Sarnoukh, Nawaf Al-Habashi, Crysencio Summerville, Mohamed Mazrouri, Ollie Watkins and Gabriel Martinelli to their squad.

Read also: Officially: Al-Ittihad sign a veteran European star

This wasn't about swelling the numbers. Al-Hilal have reshaped their attacking identity, and Summerville, Martinelli and Watkins in particular signal a shift towards pace, dynamism and a high tempo. The aim is a front line built for pressing and transitions.

That makes Al-Hilal one of the most transformed clubs on a technical level. The new arrivals landed as several important players headed the other way, so "the Boss" didn't settle for patching things up. They chose to redraw the features of their squad.

Al-Ittihad did not enter the market on the scale of Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli, but they concluded a number of deals that included Marwan Al-Sahafi, Rakan Kaabi, Mukhtar Ali and Georginio Wijnaldum.

"The Doyen" have taken a different approach here. These new names point to no wholesale revolution in the squad. Instead, they reinforce specific positions while keeping a large part of the team's core structure intact.

Wijnaldum's arrival stands out above the rest. He brings vast experience and the ability to fill more than one role across midfield and attack, while Marwan Al-Sahafi is an addition to build on. Any verdict on Al-Ittihad's window therefore hangs on how well these players deliver practical solutions rather than on the number of deals struck.

Al-Qadsiah were not the biggest spenders or the most active in the transfer market. Yet they pulled off one of the most eye-catching deals of the window, signing the Dutchman Tijjani Reijnders from Manchester City. The move lays bare the club's ambition: no longer an emerging project, but a side ready to trade blows with the big names.

Reijnders was just the start. Al-Qadsiah also strengthened their squad with Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Abdulmalik Al-Jaber and several other additions, while Otavio and a handful of players left. They also loaned out Sofyan Amrabat only a short time after he arrived.

That Reijnders deal hands Al-Qadsiah a major boost in midfield. It's not just the name or his time at Manchester City. It's the technical quality he brings, his knack for lifting the tempo and his ability to make the difference in the biggest games.

Losing Otavio and a few others, though, leaves Al-Qadsiah's window looking less complete than Al-Hilal's, who rebuilt large parts of their squad without weakening the team. 

Even so, a player of Reijnders' stature raises the ceiling all on his own. He alone lifts Al-Qadsiah into the group of clubs that can claim to have come out of the transfer market stronger and hungrier.

Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal moved aggressively. Al-Ittihad opted for limited reinforcement. Al-Nassr, by contrast, went to the utmost level of calm, with the signing of Samu Costa the most notable addition to their squad.

Set against their rivals, that choice may seem strange, especially as Al-Hilal entered the season with three new heavyweight attacking names. But Al-Nassr already possess a large group of stars, headed by Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mané, João Félix and Kingsley Coman.

You can read Al-Nassr's transfer window two ways. Either it reflects great confidence in the existing group, or it is a gamble should injuries or fixture congestion expose the need for extra depth.

Place the squad lists side by side and picking an outright winner before a ball is kicked becomes near impossible. Al-Hilal look the most changed and the most daring. Al-Ahli added quality but shed some heavyweight names, Al-Ittihad targeted specific reinforcements, and Al-Nassr bet on stability.

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Here lies the real difference. Al-Hilal gambled on rebuilding their attack. Al-Ahli tried to cover their losses, Al-Ittihad kept their balance while adding experience, and Al-Nassr said, indirectly, that their current squad can compete without major surgery.

Football does not award points on paper, though. The real answer will come on the pitch after a few months. Who turned their signings into impact? Who found that too much change became a burden? And whose stability proved the sharpest weapon of all?

The 2026 transfer window, then, was no mere race of names between the top clubs. It was a race between four different philosophies for building teams, and the real test of those philosophies begins with the whistle of the new season.