Roma have completed the signing of Saud Abdulhamid from Al Hilal to add a new option in the right-back department.
Abdulhamid, who has 36 caps for his country and played for Al-Ittihad before Al Hilal, has become the first Saudi player in Roma’s history – and indeed all of Serie A’s.
Right-back has been an area of concern for Roma for a long time, so they will be hoping their €2.5m investment in Abdulhamid will be a cost-effective way of remedying it.
Expectations of the player, though, are hard to generate, since this will be the first time the 25-year-old has played in Europe.
After taking the number 12 shirt, he will mainly be competing with Zeki Celik for a starting berth at right-back, the position in which he has been held in high regard as one of the best in the Saudi Pro League.
Roma also signed Buba Sangare earlier in the summer as a new option at right-back, but he is only 17.
Giallorossi Yorkshire verdict
There was no doubt going into the summer that the right-back department was ready for a revamp, but barely anyone would have predicted that Saud Abdulhamid would be the answer. Indeed, barely any Roma fans would have recognised his name.
Sometimes obscure signings can be successful, sometimes not. Roma will simply have to hope Abdulhamid is in the first category.
The level of opponent he has been facing in Saudi Arabia has steadily improved over the past couple of years, but Serie A will be a new challenge for him.
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