Iraqi channel "Al-Rabiaa Al-Riyadiya" claim Saudi club Al-Ettifaq have opened talks with Al-Nassr over a move for Haidar Abdul-Karim in the upcoming winter transfer window.
According to the channel, Al-Ettifaq want the Iraqi on loan until the end of the current season. That suits Al-Nassr too, as they have no desire to sell him permanently.
Al-Alami want Abdul-Karim to earn more minutes out on loan and return with greater experience, especially as he finds himself completely out of the first-team picture this season.
Several reasons explain why Al-Nassr are reluctant to include a purchase option. The first is that Al-Zawraa are owed 15% of any resale value, a clause agreed when he arrived at Al-Awwal Park last January.
The strict financial controls Al-Nassr are operating under would also block them from signing a replacement should Abdul-Karim leave permanently in the winter window.
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Abdul-Karim joined Al-Nassr from Iraq's Al-Zawraa last January in a 500,000 dollar deal, plus 15% of any future resale.
Former Al-Nassr boss Jorge Jesus handed the Iraqi his first-team chances in the second half of last season, particularly in the AFC Champions League 2.
The 22-year-old made six appearances for Al-Alami in that spell, racking up 186 minutes. Five of those came in the AFC Champions League 2 and one in the Roshn League, without a goal or an assist to show for it.
Those opportunities dried up entirely this season under Australian coach Ange Postecoglou. Abdul-Karim has not featured in the Roshn League, the King's Cup or the AFC Champions League Elite.
His role is now restricted to Al-Nassr's under-21 side in the Joy League Elite, the Saudi under-21 competition, where he shone in the second half of last season.
That junior team are struggling this time around. They sit ninth on 14 points, from four wins, two draws and two defeats.
The first team, by contrast, lie third in the Roshn League on 28 points, two behind leaders Al-Hilal and behind second-placed Al-Qadsiah on goal difference.