Al-Shabab FC officially announced that its board of directors has approved the transfer of its young defender, Nawaf Al-Ghulaimish, to NEOM FC, a move considered one of the most prominent deals in the local transfer market at the start of the new season. The Riyadh-based club issued an official statement through its media channels, thanking the player for his time at the club and wishing him every success in his new professional chapter with the ambitious NEOM project.
Background of the deal and its sporting context
This move comes as part of a clear strategy for NEOM FC, one of the promising sports projects linked to Saudi Vision 2030. Based in the futuristic city of NEOM, the club aims to build a competitive team capable of rapidly rising through the ranks of Saudi football and competing at the highest levels. Attracting young and promising talents like Nawaf Al-Ghulaimish is a cornerstone of this long-term strategy, as the club aims to establish a solid foundation of outstanding local players.
For its part, Al Shabab Club, known as one of the most prominent talent-producing academies in the Kingdom, continues its policy of developing young players and giving them opportunities, whether with the first team or by allowing them to have professional experiences that guarantee them more playing minutes, which may be the motive behind agreeing to Al Ghulaymish’s departure.
The importance of the transition and its expected impact
Domestically, this deal reflects the purchasing power and ambitious goals of emerging clubs backed by major projects, intensifying competition across all divisions and contributing to raising the overall level of Saudi football. For 20-year-old Nawaf Al-Ghalimish, the move to NEOM could represent an ideal opportunity to secure a starting position and play a pivotal role in a major sporting project, thus accelerating his technical and physical development.
Al-Ghulaimish was promoted to Al-Shabab's first team last season and made a good impression during his limited appearances. The young defender played eight matches for Al-Shabab in the Saudi Professional League and the King's Cup, totaling 469 minutes of play, during which he displayed promising defensive abilities that attracted the attention of several clubs.
