Promising midfielder Amadou Koné completes big money move to Saudi Pro League newcomers

Amadou Koné is the latest African starlet to take his talents to the Gulf region. The Malian-born Ivory Coast under-23 international midfielder officially completed a transfer to newly promoted Saudi Pro League side Neom SC from Stade Reims on Monday.

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— . (@tbsox3) May 3, 2025

The deep-lying central midfielder from Bamako showed plenty of promise for 2024-25 Coupe de France runners-up Reims, who failed to avoid relegation from France’s Ligue 1 at the conclusion of the campaign. Reims decided to cash in their young talent, receiving €12 million from the Saudi big spenders who aim to compete with the nation’s top clubs after emerging as champions of the second division.

قصة كوني تبدأ من هنا ✍️#نادي_نيوم_الرياضي

Signed, sealed, delivered ✍️#NEOMSportsClub pic.twitter.com/aTFYdV3rIj

— نادي نيوم الرياضي (@NEOMSportsClub) June 30, 2025

Koné made 29 appearances in all competitions last season for Reims and was one of the few bright spots in a team that fell apart at the end of the season before falling to Ligue 2. The 20-year-old made his national team debut in March 2024, playing for the Ivorian under-23 selection in a 2-3 defeat to their French counterparts.

Neom are an ambitious club backed by the deep pockets of the company responsible for developing a planned city on Saudi Arabia’s northern Red Sea coast. After winning the Saudi Second Division (third tier) in the 2022-23 season, Neom brought in experienced players like Saïd Benrahma on loan from West Ham and conquered the second division.

Signings like Koné represent the club’s intent to instantly compete for honors in the Saudi Pro League. Benrahma’s loan was made into a permanent transfer, also for €12 million, joining the likes of other foreign players with Saudi Pro League experience like Guinea-Bissau midfielder Alfa Semedo, veteran Egyptian center back Ahmed Hegazy and Senegalese forward Mbaye Diagne.

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