The next top players in Saudi Arabia? Gerrard predicts buying new players

Manager Steven Gerrard of Al-Ettifaq has stressed the imperative need for the club to demonstrate their serious intent by adding more players next month, despite securing signings like Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Dembele, and Demarai Gray during the summer.

Their recent defeat against Al-Nassr (1-3) extended Al-Ettifaq's winless streak to eight matches. Post the game, Gerrard emphasized the necessity for significant activity in the transfer market to showcase their ambitious intentions.

"We need to show in this transfer window, as well as in the upcoming summer window, that we are seriously minded and aim to compete at the top of the league, not where we currently stand.

It's a collective effort – the players here and now need to give more, and people need to step up, and at the right time, hopefully, we can make significant changes to the team and the squad. By the end of January, you'll see a different, stronger, and more competitive roster.

We've already had crucial meetings at Al-Ettifaq in terms of mid-season updates and assessing where each individual and the group stands. In essence, we've decided we need to be aggressive, we need to be ruthless, and we need to make a lot of changes to make this team more competitive."

Al-Ettifaq's defeat against Al-Nassr by a score of 3-1 leaves them in eighth place on the table. However, their closest pursuer, Al-Wehda Makkah, will play their current round's match tomorrow and could potentially push Gerrard's team down one spot.