Getty Images- 49 minutes ago
Out of sight, out of mind.
That is what many thought about Ivan Toney and his chances of being called up to the England squad after he made the move to Saudi Arabia last summer.
But Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel sprang a surprise by naming the Al-Ahli striker in his squad for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra and Tuesday’s friendly against Senegal.
Tuchel justified his decision by citing Toney’s impressive scoring record in Saudi Arabia – he has scored 30 in 44 games in all competitions.
“He deserves to be with us and I am convinced because he scored over 20 goals for his team this season,” the German coach said.
“He won a major title with the Asian Champions League, he had a big contribution with goals and assists.”
Talking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Toney insisted he never thought his England career was over.
“No, I never think negative, I always think positive, no matter the situation on and off the pitch.
“I mean if you are scoring and playing well, obviously you are still going to be in the manager’s mind.
“The manager recognised that and hence why I got the recall, which is obviously the best feeling.”
A player in form, but from a poor league?
ReutersThere have, of course, been many high-profile footballers who have made the move to Saudi Arabia in recent years.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is perhaps the most famous of them, but there’s also been Neymar, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez, who continued to be selected by their respective national teams after making the moves.
Indeed, Toney could come up against his Al-Ahli team-mate Edouard Mendy when England play Senegal next week.
Looking through the list of squads there are plenty of recognisable names playing in the Saudi Pro League but, despite that, the overall standard of the league is perceived as quite low.
In Opta’s most recent Power Rankings the Saudi Pro League was ranked as just the 29th-strongest in the world, just behind the Ecuador Liga Pro.
“Toney has referenced it himself publicly that he has been very surprised by the standard for football in Saudi Arabia,” Gulf-based sports journalist John McAuley, who covers the Saudi Pro League, told BBC Sport.
“It is a lot higher than he expected and obviously that is because of the influx of proper international players coming into the league now.
“Saudi always had a very high standing in Asian football – Al-Hilal are the record four-time winners of the Asian Champions League.
“The level of local players is still very good but when you think of the defenders Toney is up against, he is still playing against Aymeric Laporte at Al-Nassr, Kalidou Koulibaly at Al-Hilal, Danilo Pereira, who came from PSG to Al-Ittihad – so he is still playing against European standard players.”
Regardless of the perception of the league he is playing in, there’s no doubt Toney arrived at this England camp as a player in form, having enjoyed a brilliant scoring run in the second half of the season to help Al-Ahli become champions of Asia.
“He ended up with a run of something like 19 goals in his last 19 league games, finishing two goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Boot,” McAuley added.
“The huge thing, and something that really integrated him with the fans, is he played a key role in Al-Ahli winning the Asian Champions League Elite for the first time.”
“Making the transition, the first moving to Saudi, it was a big one,” Toney told 5 live.
“Obviously, people are going to think ‘how is he going to cope and how is he going to be?’. As you can see from the stats, they speak for themselves.
“It’s been a good season with winning a trophy also. It was a big thing for me, I haven’t won many trophies, but being part of that one was a big moment.”
A career of ups and downs
Getty ImagesToney is 29 and has certainly had an interesting and varied career to this point.
Starting at Northampton, he rose through the leagues – scoring in all four of the top divisions in English football before settling at Brentford.
It was at the Bees where he peaked, with 20 league goals in the 2022-23 season, to become one of the hottest properties in the Premier League.
Toney has, however, been a bit of a late bloomer. He only established himself in the Premier League four years ago, and was 27 years old when he won his first England cap. In comparison, Harry Kane had 46 caps by that stage – while Wayne Rooney had 78.
His career has also been marked with controversy – in May 2023 he was banned from playing for eight months for 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules.
Last summer he was included in the England squad for Euro 2024 and played in the final against Spain, before opting to join Al-Ahli in August for £40m.
The wages offered will no doubt have played a big role in Toney’s decision, with it reported that the four-year-deal with the Saudi side would earn him £400,000 per week after tax.
A huge rise on the £50,000-a-week he was on at Brentford.
Given Toney was in his late twenties when he reached the top of the game, a desire to significantly safeguard his financial future seems understandable.
But the striker has been insistent that a desire for new experiences also motivated him.
“I wanted something a bit different,” he told FourFourTwo in December.
“It’s a different culture, but I can blend in anywhere. I’ve been at Peterborough, Brentford, now out of the UK.
“I’m excited to be on this journey. I believe it’s the right move at this stage of my career.”
The ‘natural fit’ who might offer an edge for 2026 World Cup
Getty ImagesTuchel was keen to stress that Toney’s England call-up was as much about him getting a close-up look at the player, having not had the opportunity to go see him play in Saudi Arabia.
The former Chelsea boss has underlined the importance of a player’s personality and how they are in a training camp, as well as having players in the group who have won things – having talked up Toney’s Asian Champions League success.
But aside from that he does offer Tuchel a good option in attack.
“Of course, yes I have been in the plans before and I just have to keep amongst it, keep scoring goals and keep playing well,” said Toney.
“There are a lot of great players and great strikers that are in and around the mix, but I have to focus on myself and hopefully I can stay amongst it now and get myself to the World Cup.”
“Toney is the most natural fit if Kane is injured. He is the most similar in terms of profile,” says BBC Sport’s senior football reporter Alex Howell.
“When you see Ollie Watkins play it does really change the way England play – wingers are looking for him, the number 10s want to connect with the striker, but Watkins is always looking the other way – Toney wants to be that focal point.”
Another consideration Tuchel may have made is that by the time the 2026 World Cup comes round, playing in the heat and humidity of Saudi Arabia will ensure Toney is accustomed to the conditions anticipated in North America.
“The start and end of the season it is boiling in Jeddah, and it has the humidity as well, and that will certainly stand him in good stead for next year,” added McAuley.
All eyes will now be on these next two games for England and how big a role Toney plays in them under Tuchel.
