Saudi Pro League wants football stars in their prime in next phase

“Now whenever an opportunity comes up and one of those kinds of players that you mentioned are available we will compete for them,” Emenalo said.

“This particular coming window…if there’s an opportunity to spend significantly on someone that we think will bring exactly what we needed or what is needed, then we will do that.”

So far, the big names the SPL has brought in have been those – such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar – coming towards the end of their career.

Salah, who was the subject of a failed £150 million bid from Al-Ittihad last year, has one more year on his contract at Liverpool, who expect the 31-year-old to stay. De Bruyne, 32, has the same period remaining on his deal at Manchester City but may be harder to persuade to join the SPL.

There is a sense that it may be easier to sign both players next year, when they are out of contract. When asked directly about the pair, Emenalo stressed he did not want to talk about individuals out of “absolute respect” for “organisations that we work with, that we compete with” explaining it was “part of the integrity code that this league and this nation wants to carry into this whole process”.

Strong interest in Alisson and Ederson

However, tellingly, Emenalo added: “It does help that on a public level, their performance is there, their quality is indisputable… All things being equal, which means their clubs, the players, management, our situation, our stakeholders and everybody, these are the type of players that can significantly improve what we’re trying to do. There’s no hiding away from that.”

Telegraph Sport revealed that bids are expected for the Manchester United pair Casemiro – who is likely to go – and Bruno Fernandes and there is strong interest in Liverpool’s Alisson and City’s Ederson.

There is an expectation that a fresh attempt will be made to bring Mourinho into the SPL next season as a head coach with Al-Qadsiah, local rivals to Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq, being promoted into the SPL and wanting to fly him over.

Emenalo said he had no “direct information” about a deal but added: “Jose is a brand in his own…Whether he’s ready to come or whether a club in our league is ready for him is something that needs to be determined.”