A record-breaking top scorer in the Elite Way League, Saudi Arabia's Under-21 competition, is closing in on an exit from Al-Ittihad this summer.
Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat" report that Al-Ittihad have agreed a swap loan with Al-Ettifaq. Young striker Talal Haji heads the other way, with goalkeeper Faisal Al-Shamri arriving in return.
Haji leaves having written his name into the record books last season. He became the first player to score six goals, a "double hat-trick", in a single Elite Way League match.
Those six goals came in the 7-1 win over Al-Bukayriyah on 8 March, in the eighteenth round of the Saudi Under-21 League. The striker was just 19.
His name first turned heads at Al-Ittihad around three years ago. In the summer of 2023, the club promoted him to the first team at the same time as they landed French striker Karim Benzema from Real Madrid.
Still only 16 in that first season, Haji featured in 13 matches. Two of those were full games in which he deputised for the absent Benzema, and across the campaign he scored twice and provided three assists.
His form dipped afterwards. Al-Ittihad sent him to Al-Riyadh on loan in 2025, but he managed just one goal in 15 matches.
The summer transfer window in the Saudi Under-21 League runs until 20 September, having closed in the Roshn League on the 6th of this month.
