Agent Souleymane Ba has revealed to AfricaFoot that Ibou Sané’s transfer to Al Ula, in the Saudi second division, fell through for reasons beyond the parties’ control. The Senegalese striker ultimately stayed at FC Metz.
Ibou Sané very nearly had a change of scene in the last transfer window. According to revelations from his agent, Souleymane Ba, reported by AfricaFoot, the Senegalese striker was on the verge of signing for Saudi club Al Ula, a second division (Yelo League) side. The deal ultimately collapsed, and the former Génération Foot man continued the 2026-2027 season in the colours of FC Metz.
The U-turn is far from insignificant for a player returning from injury. Last season, Sané had been loaned to Amiens SC, where his progress was slowed by an injury that is now completely behind him, AfricaFoot reports. Now he is back in the Metz squad, for the recent match against Dijon.
Al Ula had rolled out the red carpet
The Saudi club had put forward a substantial financial offer to secure the services of the centre-forward, AfricaFoot reports. But the transaction never went through.
“Indeed, Ibou was very close to joining the Saudi second division (Yelo League) via Al Ula. They had made us a fine offer, but unfortunately, factors beyond our control prevented the transfer from being completed,” Souleymane Ba told the specialist outlet. The player’s agent does not go any further: the exact reasons for the failure are not detailed, and the amount of the offer is not specified.
A versatile profile, a role to be defined
The player’s representative takes the opportunity to sketch a portrait of his client, who came through the Génération Foot academy in Senegal: “Ibou is a versatile striker capable of playing every position across the front line. He is just as comfortable with his right foot as with his left.”
Souleymane Ba even has a firm idea about the best way to use him. “However, drawing on my experience, I prefer to see him play as a second striker when the team plays with two up front,” he adds in the columns of AfricaFoot. A technical opinion that the player himself, still under contract with FC Metz, will have to turn into arguments on the pitch to earn his place.
Dijon, then Sochaux on the menu
His return to the Moselle squad came in the recent match against Dijon, a sign that his injury is now completely behind him. For Ibou Sané, the challenge is to establish himself in Moselle after a loan spell marked by physical setbacks and a Saudi transfer left in limbo.
The next fixture for the Moselle club: matchday 9 of the league season, this Saturday, 17 October 2026 at 14:00, against FC Sochaux, at the Stade Saint-Symphorien.