Al-Hilal should already be looking to bolster the defensive area of their midfield, as the club has been conceding a big amount of counters, that both have and might have been deadly for them. Just look at the goal conceded in the AFC Champions League group stage opening game against Uzbek side Navbahor, who only needed one counter-attack to hit the back of their net. This was partly or even mostly due to the lack of a defensive midfielder who could keep that area safe and track back and win the ball back.

The goal conceded by Mohamed Al-Owais in that game saw The Blues drop 2 points in a game that had been supposed to be easy for them. We have clarified in previous pieces how the midfield composed of only Rúben Neves and Sergej Milinković-Savić in the midfield, not only puts the team at risk in transitional phases but also limits the main qualities of the latter, who is tied up in deeper areas. With the season-ending injury of Neymar, and if they decide to take another foreigner in the winter transfer window, the defensive midfield market must be the priority. Let's take a look at a potential solution to their defensive midfielder vacancy.

André (Fluminense)

At the age of 22, and not even playing in Europe, André Trindade has already got several Brazil national call-ups, and that speaks volumes about the quality of the youngster. Plying his trade under Fernando Diniz for Brazil and Fluminense, André played a vital role in Fluminense's first-ever Copa Libertadores victory, and he has already received interest from the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Fulham with a January departure being mooted. Whilst a move to Saudi Arabia may seem unlikely, we've seen plenty of promising youngsters decide to head to the Gulf country in the past few months such as Gabri Veiga, Jota and Musa Barrow -- André certainly wouldn't be the first or the last to do so.