As Spanish Real Oviedo nears the final touches in preparing its squad for the new season, the club faces a decisive obstacle hindering its transfer market plans, concerning the fate of Egyptian international Haitham Hassan.
Real Oviedo faces an obstacle regarding the departures from its ranks this summer, with Haitham Hassan's name emerging as a winning card the club seeks to capitalize on financially, given several offers available.
Haitham Hassan on the radar of the Saudi league
The Egyptian international player, according to the Spanish newspaper "La Nueva," has attracted interest from several clubs following his standout performance at the World Cup, particularly in the match against the Argentina national team, with the most prominent and serious offer coming from Scottish Celtic and the Saudi league.
The report noted that Saudi clubs submitted a massive financial offer meeting the expectations of Real Oviedo's management, yet the player himself remains hesitant to take this step due to his ambition to continue in Europe.
Conflict between money and sporting ambition
Haitham Hassan has returned to training with the team that was relegated to the Spanish Segunda División, at "Carlos Tartiere" Stadium, to begin preparations for the new season, maintaining his undecided stance on the Saudi offer.
Although the offered contract is financially tempting for the player compared to available European offers, he prefers to wait in hopes of receiving offers from more competitive European leagues, without completely closing the door on the Saudi option.
In this regard, Oviedo welcomes its player's move to the Saudi league, as the deal would provide the required financial liquidity to raise the salary cap approved by the Spanish league association.
The "La Nueva" report noted that Villarreal retains the right to receive 40% of the profits from Haitham Hassan's resale, according to the clause included in his transfer contract to Real Oviedo.
Lomonaco deal linked to Haitham Hassan's fate
Real Oviedo's summer transfer moves have been directly tied to resolving Hassan's situation; the club is currently freezing the signing of Argentine defender Kevin Lomonaco from Argentine club Independiente.
The "Pachuca" group, owner of Oviedo, is leading negotiations to sign Lomonaco in a deal exceeding 6 million euros with the intention of transferring him directly to the blue club.
However, completing the deal depends entirely on freeing up space in the salary margin, which will only be achieved by selling the Egyptian international star and utilizing his financial returns in the market.
