Strikers to watch in the Saudi Arabian league
Abdulrazzak Hamdallah, Gomis, Al-Somah, Niakaté and Romarinho are going to be the main players in the duel for the top scorer's award this season
The Saudi Arabian league is scheduled to kick-off on 17 October with the AFC website shedding light on important attacking players that are expected to compete for the competition's top scorer award this season.
The article published on the AFC website picked five prominent players who shone last season in the domestic league or the ACL, with impressive performances and a keen ability to find the back of the net.
Al-Nassr's Abdulrazzak Hamdallah:
Hamdallah, the Moroccan goal machine, is aiming to be crowned the top scorer in the competition for the third time in a row. In 2018 Hamdallah set a new record by scoring 35 goals in one season, leading Al-Nassr to the championship. He went on to retain the top scorer crown last season when he found the net 29 times.
Al-Hilal's Bafétimbi Gomis:
The French striker has a huge fan base among Al-Hilal fans due to the decisive goals he has been regularly scoring since joining in 2018, in addition to his famous goal celebration that the Al-Hilal faithful are always excited to see.
Over the last two seasons, Gomis came second behind Hamdallah on the top scorers' list, hitting 21 goals in his first season and bagging 29 goals in his second campaign. However, Gomis's biggest achievement remains being named ACL 2019 top scorer when he found the net 11 times during the tournament helping his team to win the title.
Al-Ahly's Omar Al-Somah:
The Syrian striker has grown into one of the most important players in Asia since joining Al-Ahly in 2014. Al-Somah has been named the league's top scorer three times in a row in seasons 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017 when he scored 22, 27, and 24 goals respectively.
He has also achieved significant success on the continental level as he has scored 19 goals in the ACL, seven of which came in the 2019 competition when Al-Ahly was eliminated in the round of 16 against Al-Hilal.
Al-Somah can score from several sources and is known for his accurate headers and perfectly taken free-kicks.
Al-Wehda's Youssouf Niakaté:
The Malian striker joined Al-Wehda in July 2019 and scored 16 goals in his first season with the team. The 27-year-old helped Al-Wedha secure fourth place in the Saudi league standings while he also came fourth among the league's top scorers.
Al-Ittihad's Romarinho:
Romarinho finished last season as the league's fifth-highest goal scorer, bagging 15 of the 42 Al-Ittihad scored over the course of the entire campaign to help his team avert relegation.
The Brazilian star joined Al-Ittihad in 2018 from Emirati side Al-Jazira and managed to score seven goals in his first season in addition to three in the ACL.