Numerous African talents continue to make the move to the riches of Saudi club football and the latest is Senegal national team striker Habib Diallo who completed a club record transfer to Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab over the weekend. The Génération Foot youth product moves from French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg to Shabab for a fee reported to be around €18 million to boost the club’s attack ahead of the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League campaign.
Diallo joins after a career-best 2022-23 season where he scored 20 Ligue 1 goals in 37 appearances for Strasbourg, good for sixth place on the Ligue 1 scoring table. The 28-year-old spent eight years in French football where he scored 107 goals in 271 appearances in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 for Strasbourg, FC Metz and Stade Brestois.
The goal scorer is also a member of the Senegal national team, scoring 4 goals in 18 appearances for the senior side. Diallo made three appearances during Senegal’s winning run at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and also scored twice during Senegal’s run to the semifinals of the 2015 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
Diallo joins an Al-Shabab side that finished in fourth place during the 2022-23 Saudi Pro League season. Shabab most recently fell 3-1 to Saudi giants Al-Hilal in the semifinals of the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup and will begin the new Saudi Pro League season with a home match against top division newcomers Al Akhdoud on Monday.
