Coach Pitso "Jingles" Mosimane has painted a grim picture of him recruiting Premier Soccer League (PSL) players for his Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ahli Saudi.

Mosimane, who only penned a two-year deal with Ahli last Sunday, is of the view PSL players are overpriced, saying this would be a stumbling block even if he wants to sign them for his new Saudi Arabian team. Mosimane also hinted SA players would struggle to cope with social life in the Arab world, synonymous with stringent religious rules.

"If there's an opportunity in the next break [meaning the transfer window]... maybe in future we can always look around and see what we can bring. It is always good to bring SA players into those market spaces but it's very difficult to bring them to that space in the Middle East... it's not an easy thing because they need to adapt, social life is different,'' Mosimane said in a media conference arranged by his agency MT Sports in Sandton yesterday.

"If you need a player [go to] Congo, Nigeria, Ghana or other spaces. I am telling you, it's easy to do it that way. With the finances also, it's easier to get a player from those countries than it is in SA. The SA market is very difficult... the teams expect you to pay a lot of money, that's the challenge. The transfers are big here... you'll speak R13-million and players don't move. I tried to sign PSL players when I was at Al Ahly but I couldn't because it's  $5m, I mean really? It's not easy."

At Al Ahly Mosimane attempted to recruit his former side Mamelodi Sundowns’ Gaston Sirino but the Tshwane giants never entertained the North Africans’ offer even when Sirino himself made it clear he was keen to reunite with Jingles in Cairo.

Mosimane also confirmed he’s aiming to get an assistant coach who’s familiar with happenings in Saudi Arabia. The former Sundowns tactician will be going with his own performance analysts in Musi Matlaba and Kyle Solomon alongside fitness trainer Kabelo “KB” Rangoaga.

Mosimane and his coaching panel are still sorting out their visas before they depart to start their new journey with  Ahli, who are campaigning in the second tier of Saudi football.