JEDDAH — Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema led Al-Ittihad's pre-season summer training camp in Taif on Monday. Benzema was joined by the new signings of Al-Ittihad who include French midfielder N'Golo Kante and Portuguese winger Jota Filipe. The Saudi Pro League champions are having their summer training camp inside the Kingdom while the other big four in the league are going for pre-seasons camps in Europe. The Jeddah-based club is set to intensify preparations ahead of the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup later this month. Portuguese coach Nuno Santo has called 21 players to join the camp until July 26. Al-Ittihad has already bid farewell to Bruno Henrique and Angolan Helder Costa. The Egyptian duo Ahmed Hegazy and Tariq Hamed spots in the club for the upcoming season are still unclear. Hegazy will skip the first half of the season as he just has undergone a successful surgery after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament. Goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe, who shone in defending the team's net in the last season, most likely is to keep defending the club for the next season. Other foreign players including Igor Coronado, Abderazak Hamdallah and Romarinho are all joining the summer camp. Al-Ittihad has a busy and tough season ahead as it competes in six different competitions, the Arab Club Champions Cup (King Salman Club Cup), the Roshn Saudi League, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup, Saudi Super Cup, AFC Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup 2023.
