Al-Ittifaq have hit pause on Saad Al-Shehri’s contract renewal, keeping their head coach in a holding pattern while speculation builds over a possible move to the Saudi national team for the 2026 World Cup.
Reports in recent days claimed the Saudi Arabian Football Federation had opened lines of communication with Al-Shehri about succeeding Hervé Renard with the senior side. His agent, Rafi Al-Shahrani, has pushed back on talk of any concrete negotiations, but he has made one thing clear: if an official offer lands on the table, his client would not hesitate to accept.
Club cautious, but leaning towards continuity
According to Saudi daily Al-Riyadiah, Al-Ittifaq have decided not to rush into a new deal. The club will wait until the end of the current campaign before making a final call on Al-Shehri’s future, using the full season as a measuring stick for his technical work and the team’s trajectory.
Inside the Eastern Province club, the intention is still to keep him. The hierarchy, the report says, are inclined to retain Al-Shehri as head coach for next season, provided the national team scenario does not rip up their plans.
That tension defines his situation: a club ready to commit, and a coach who could yet be pulled onto the international stage.
A mixed but solid record on the touchline
Al-Shehri took charge of Al-Ittifaq in January 2025, stepping in after the departure of Englishman Steven Gerrard. Since then, he has overseen 44 matches in all competitions, collecting 20 wins, suffering 14 defeats and drawing 10 times.
It is a record that suggests progress but not dominance, a team competitive most weeks but still searching for a higher gear. The league table reflects that reality. Al-Ittifaq sit seventh in the Saudi Pro League on 39 points, three behind Al-Ittihad in sixth.
For a club with growing ambitions in a rapidly evolving league, the next step is crucial. That is why the board want the full season’s evidence before putting fresh terms in front of him.
Planning one future, eyeing another
Al-Shehri is not waiting around. He has already begun sketching out next season with Al-Ittifaq, holding a meeting with the club’s technical committee to map the squad’s needs. On the agenda: which contracts to renew, which players to move on, and where reinforcements are required.
Those conversations show a coach acting as if he will be in the dugout when the new campaign kicks off. Yet every plan he makes carries an asterisk.
All of it depends on what happens with the Saudi national team job. If the federation formalises its interest and presents a proposal, his agent has said there will be no hesitation in accepting. If it does not, Al-Ittifaq look ready to build around him.
For now, Al-Shehri stands at a crossroads: one path leading deeper into a club project he has started to shape, the other towards the pressure and prestige of a World Cup cycle with the Green Falcons.
