Saleh Al Amri: Al Raed's Saudi charm integral upon RSL return | OneFootball

If there’s one thing Al Raed manager Odair Hellmann has probably worked on across the mid-season break it might be conjuring more ways for Saleh Al Amri to score.

For the veteran striker is something of a good-luck charm for his side this season.

Al Amri, 31, might have only three goals to his name but, each time he has scored, Hellmann’s side have gone on to take all three points. For a team that’s managed four wins to this point in the Roshn Saudi League, that’s not an insignificant stat.

There might be better credentialled players at Hellmann’s disposal, ones with English Premier League, Ligue 1 and UEFA Europa League experience, such as Mathias Normann and Mehdi Abeid.

However, few are delivering more of an impact than Al Amri, who has three assists to go with the goals. Only Amir Sayoud, Al Raed’s Algerian playmaker, has a better return in terms of goal contributions, with seven.

Looking at Al Amri, for the majority the label “journeyman” in football carries certain connotations, usually negative. But it is an apt descriptor for a player now at his seventh club - and fourth in the past six seasons.

Al Amri’s career started at his hometown club, Al Qadsiah, before the Al Khobar native spent spells with Al Ahli, Al Ettifaq (twice), Al Wehda (twice), Abha, Al Ittihad and now, Al Raed. That’s not a knock on Al Amri’s talent. Yet, for one reason or another, he has largely struggled to deliver on his potential.

Al Amri’s three-year stint in Abha, a future host city of the FIFA World Cup 2034, between 2020 and 2023 did prove his most fruitful, with three years of regular football. There, the Saudi frontman struck 10 goals and registered an impressive 20 assists to underline his importance to the team.

The fact Al Amri finished in the RSL top 10 for assists in each of his three seasons there, at a club that failed to end any campaign in the upper half of the table, is noteworthy. It also explains why Al Ittihad, then Saudi champions, swooped for him ahead of the 2023-24 season.

That said, what could’ve been a dream move did not materialise. Three goals and two assists is not a bad return from only 940 minutes of RSL action, but it’s that latter stat that explains why the switch didn’t quite work out.

Al Amri’s arrival in Jeddah coincided with that of a host of international stars, including the likes of Ballon d’Or Karim Benzema and FIFA World Cup winner N’Golo Kante. And, with players of the calibre of Abderrazak Hamdallah, Romarinho and Igor Coronado already on the books, opportunities were understandably in short supply.

So, Al Amri’s return in goals and assists given the limited minutes is more than adequate. As expected, though, he craved more regular game-time - something Al Ittihad were not able to offer ahead of the 2024-25 season after another squad overhaul prompted even more attacking reinforcements being recruited.

A loan to Al Raed, therefore, was seen as the best opportunity for this term. And, with the trio of both goals and assists from 12 RSL games, Al Amri is holding up his end of the bargain.

The goals, in particular, have displayed the quality of finish he has in his right boot. The first came in September, in a 5-0 thumping of Al Fayha in Matchweek 3, which capped a superb performance. Al Amri rounded off the victory with the fifth goal of the night, but he had bagged two assists beforehand.

His effort came from a well-constructed team goal that in fact he began, with intricate one-touch passing and then a rifled shot home into the top corner.

The following month, against Al Ettifaq in Matchweek 6, Al Amri capitalised on Al Raed’s excellent forward pressure, again which he instigated. As first Al Amri, then Thamer Al Khaibari and finally Mohammed Al Dossary, pressured Al Ettifaq as they tried to play out from the back, the ball spilled to the Saudi forward.

With an open goal at his mercy, Al Amri finished coolly from outside the penalty area to give his side a 1-0 lead. Ultimately, it won the match.

Al Amri’s most recent goal came in November’s 3-1 victory against promoted side Al Orobah - and might just be the pick of the bunch. As Zakaria Hawsawi, a former teammate from Al Ittihad, rampaged forward into the visitors’ area, his attempted cross was blocked to fall to the feet of Al Amri, who from the edge of the box, unleashed an instinctive curler past the outstretched hand of Gaetan Coucke.

Cancelling out Ismael Kandouss’ opener for the away side, it set Al Raed on their way to the three points. Also, it was a finish of real calibre, but understated at the same time, which is perhaps the perfect description for Al Amri’s career to date. He is a player of immense quality that hasn’t always had the opportunity to showcase what he is capable of.

This season, however, is one he is getting to do just that. The goals and assists speak for themselves. It’s up to Hellmann now, perhaps, to work out a way of ensuring Al Raed retain the rub of their good-luck charm.