Al-Ittihad Nears Ritsu Doan Signing as Diaby Replacement

Al-Ittihad’s response to a turbulent summer is starting to take shape, and it carries a distinctly Japanese touch.

The Jeddah giants are on the brink of securing Ritsu Doan from Eintracht Frankfurt, with an agreement already in place between the two clubs and only minor contractual details left before the deal becomes official, according to Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadiah.

The move is no luxury signing. It is a direct reaction to loss.

Moussa Diaby’s departure to Bayer Leverkusen ripped a key attacking piece out of “the Dean’s” structure, leaving a gap in creativity, direct running, and end-product in the final third. That exit forced Al-Ittihad into the market for a forward who could not only replace Diaby’s influence, but expand the tactical options available to the coach.

Doan fits that brief.

Still just in his mid-twenties yet already hardened by years in Europe, the Japan international offers versatility across the frontline. He can drift in from the flank, operate between the lines, or attack space behind the defence, giving Al-Ittihad a multi-purpose weapon as they attempt to redraw their attacking map in the Roshn League.

The Saudi club’s recruitment team have treated this window as a reset. Big names from the previous project have moved on, and with them, an era. In their place, the board is trying to assemble a squad capable of delivering a sharper, more flexible identity – one that can execute the coach’s ideas with greater intensity and variety.

Doan’s European experience makes him a central piece of that plan. He has seen different systems, different pressures, different expectations. Al-Ittihad are banking on that maturity translating quickly to Jeddah, both on the pitch and in the dressing room.

According to Al-Riyadiah, the agreement with Eintracht Frankfurt is complete. The two clubs are essentially in a holding pattern, waiting for the last formalities to be ironed out before Doan is unveiled in yellow and black. From the outside, it feels like a done deal waiting for a signature and a photo.

For Al-Ittihad, the timing matters. The Roshn League season is already shaping up as a test of who has adapted fastest to another frantic summer of change across Saudi Arabia. They cannot afford to drift into the campaign still searching for a Diaby successor.

Doan is expected to be that man.

His arrival would hand Al-Ittihad a fresh attacking spark and a different angle of threat, especially in tight games where invention and movement between the lines decide the outcome. It is precisely in those moments that Diaby once tilted the balance. Now, the responsibility is set to pass to a Japanese playmaker stepping into a new footballing world.

In Jeddah, fans of “the Dean” are simply waiting for the club to make it official – and to see whether Ritsu Doan can turn a summer of upheaval into the start of a very different story.