Tunisia international Taha Yassine Khenissi is raving with anger after being told he won’t be joining Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
The 25-year-old forward, under contract with Tunisian league, champions Esperance Sportive du Tunis (Tunis), has been on Al Nassr’s radar all season and was on the brink of opening talks with the club’s representatives before being refused the chance to switch to the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
ES Tunis club chairman Hamdi Meddeb turned down The Global Knights of Najd’s €1m bid plus add-ons after failing to secure an immediate replacement should the Zarzis-born goal-poacher leave.
Khenissi is Esperance and North Africa’s leading scorer this season with 15 goals.
The Blood and Gold side have the ambition to reclaim the CAF Champions League after the last win six years ago and fear that Khenissi’s departure from the Stade Olympique de Radès could see the club’s plans hit the buffers.
Even though the Tunisian has a one-and-half –year deal left on his initial three-year agreement with ES, the player and club are said to have reached a consensus before the start of the just-concluded season that he would be let go when a Saudi club comes calling, a source from Tunis told Ducor Sports.
As a result, the player is understood to be upset by the club chairman’s decision to shun Al Nassr’s proposal.
The slight fall-out with his employers comes as an unwelcome distraction, reeling in at an unfavorable time, just four days before Esperance takes on holders South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in a Group C Total CAF Champions League must-watch showdown.
The former ESS du Sahel marksman, despite his fury, reported to training for the big African game. Khenissi is capped 20 times for the Tunisian national team, netting five times for the Cartage Eagles and has won all that there’s for the taking in African football.
He clinched the Tunisian Professionelle League, quadruple time including two Tunisian Cup winners’ medals.
The CAF Champions League, Confederation Cup, and two CAF Super Runners-up medals are also part of his collection of trophies.
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