Saudi club Al-Ahli sign Turkish defender Demiral from Atalanta

Turkey defender Merih Demiral has joined Al-Ahli from Italian side Atalanta on a three-year deal, the Saudi Pro League club said on Saturday.

The clubs did not disclose the transfer fee for the 25-year-old, who joined Atalanta from Juventus in 2022, but Italian media said it was 20 million euros ($21.73 million).

Demiral scored once in 28 games in all competitions for Atalanta last season.

"A new warrior in our squad" Al-Ahli posted on messaging platform X, previously known as Twitter.

Demiral becomes the latest addition to Al-Ahli, who returned to the Pro league following a season in the second division, after Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, Alain Saint-Maximin, Franck Kessie and Roger Ibanez.

Matthias Jaissle's team have enjoyed a great start to the season with two wins from two games.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced a Sports Clubs Investment and Privatisation Project involving league champions Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal.

PIF owns 75 per cent of each of the four clubs, while their respective non-profit foundations own 25 per cent of each.

($1 = 0.9204 euros)

(This story has been refiled to add the dropped word 'club' in the headline)