Al Ittihad enter the 2026-27 season with a significant boost after booking their place in the AFC Champions League Elite, beating UAE side Al-Jazira 4-1 in Abu Dhabi on August 11. The result matters beyond the scoreline. Having finished fifth in the Saudi Pro League last season, the club was forced into qualification, and failure would have compounded an already difficult year that ended without silverware and cost Sergio Conceicao his job. Goals from Steven Bergwijn (two), Hossam Awwad and Marwan Al-Sahafi secured the win despite a disrupted build-up, with a knee injury to one first-team player adding to the list of absentees Jens Weisang had to manage.

Weisang himself has been at the centre of a separate story. Reports indicate the 38-year-old German coach, appointed after winning the AFC Champions League 2 with Gamba Osaka, expressed frustration and shock at the club's executive management within his first month in charge. That friction with the board adds an unsettled backdrop to what is already a rebuilding project.

In the transfer market, winger Moussa Diaby appears close to leaving for Bayer Leverkusen, with Inter Milan also pursuing the Frenchman. His potential departure would represent a notable loss, and the club has faced criticism for not adequately reinforcing certain positions this summer. The signing of Senegalese midfielder Dion Lopy from Almeria for around 19 million euros generated its own controversy.

Attention now turns to Saturday's Saudi Pro League opener at home against Al Kholood, the first test of whether Weisang can translate a continental qualifier into domestic momentum.