New Saints contact Fifa over outstanding Brad Young Saudi fee

Clubs in the Saudi Pro League have invested heavily in attracting big names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar over recent years.

In December, Fifa confirmed Saudi Arabia would host the 2034 men’s World Cup, a decision which Harris has criticised.

Solihull-born Young joined Saints in September 2023 after leaving Aston Villa, and went on to score 22 goals for the Welsh champions, winning the Cymru Premier’s player of the season award.

Young scored twice on his European debut as part of the run that saw Craig Harrison’s side eventually secure a historic place in the Europa Conference League group stage.

But the 21-year-old left Saints before the club’s Conference League campaign, much to Harris’ frustration.

“They came in on the last day before the transfer window closed and unsettled our player, promising the world,” Harris added.

“We’re not a selling club – we did not want to sell him. The money they were offering him was life-changing.

“This guy from Saudi Arabia was all ‘we are this, we are this’ and that they’ve got loads of dosh. I didn’t want the dosh – I wanted the player to play in Europe.

“We missed the deadline, played in Europe without a striker. We couldn’t get another player in. We represented Wales in Europe and the difference was we didn’t quite score enough goals.

“If we’d had a player of his calibre I’d have said we would have had a better chance.”