‘The best feeling’ – will Toney build on Saudi success with England?

Out of the mind, out of sight.

Many people were skeptical of Ivan Toney’s chances of being selected for England’s starting lineup after his summer move to Saudi Arabia.

However, Thomas Tuchel, the manager of the Three Lions, added the Al-Ahli striker to his squad for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra and Tuesday’s friendly against Senegal.

Toney’s impressive scoring record in Saudi Arabia, which includes 30 in all of his games, was used to justify Tuchel’s choice.

The German coach said, “He deserves to be with us, and I’m persuaded that because he scored more than 20 goals this year for his team,”

He made a significant contribution with goals and assists in the Asian Champions League, which he won.

Toney insisted during a BBC Radio 5 Live interview that he never believed his English career was over.

No, regardless of the circumstance on or off the pitch, I never think negatively. Instead, I always think positively.

“I mean, you are still going to be in the manager’s mind, obviously, if you are scoring and playing well.”

In recent years, many famous footballers have relocated to Saudi Arabia.

Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, is perhaps the most well-known of them all, but Neymar, N’Golo Kante, and Riyad Mahrez also made the moves, continuing to be chosen by their respective national teams.

In fact, Toney’s Al-Ahli team-mate Edouard Mendy could face off against him when England travel to Senegal the following week.

There are a lot of familiar names in the Saudi Pro League, but the overall standard of play is thought to be rather low.

The Saudi Pro League was just behind the Ecuador Liga Pro in Opta’s most recent Power Rankings, which placed it 29th overall.

The Saudi Pro League correspondent John McAuley, a Gulf-based sports journalist, told BBC Sport that “Toney has publicly stated that he has been very surprised by the standard of football there.”

“The influx of legitimate international players entering the league right now is what caused it to be significantly higher than he anticipated,” he said.

Al-Hilal are the record four-time winners of the Asian Champions League, which means that Saudi has always had a very high standing in the Asian league.

“He is still playing against local players, 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, and Danilo Pereira, who moved from PSG to Al-Ittihad, so he is still playing against European standard players,” he said.

Regardless of how the league Toney is currently playing in, there is no denying that Toney entered this England camp as a top scorer after scoring twice in the second half of the campaign to help Al-Ahli win the Asia title.

In his final 19 league games, McAuley finished two goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the search for the Golden Boot, according to McAuley, who added: “He ended up with a run of roughly 19 goals.

The significant thing is that, for the first time, Al-Ahli won the Asian Champions League Elite, he played a significant role in Al-Ahli’s success. This was something that really connected him with the fans.

Toney explained to 5 live that the transition was “a big one” as the first person to move to Saudi.

“Obviously, people will be asking how he will cope and be,” he said. ‘. They speak for themselves, as you can see from the statistics.

Toney is 29 years old and has undoubtedly had a varied and interesting career to this point.

Before settling at Brentford, he started out at Northampton and moved up through the English football leagues, scoring in each of the four top divisions.

He reached his peak at the Bees, scoring 20 league goals in the 2022-23 campaign, to become one of the Premier League’s most enthralling properties.

Toney has, however, come a little late to the party. He won his first England cap at the age of 27 when he only became an established player in the Premier League four years ago. By that point, Wayne Rooney had 78 caps, compared to Harry Kane’s 46 at that time.

His professional life has also been filled with controversy; in May of that year, he was ordered to miss eight months of football for 232 football-related infractions.

He made his debut for Al-Ahli in August, joining for £40m, and playing in the England squad for Euro 2024 last summer.

Toney’s decision will undoubtedly depend heavily on the wages offered, with reports claiming that his four-year deal with the Saudi side would earn him £400, 000 per week after tax.

A significant increase over the Brentford, £50, 000 per week, he received.

A desire to significantly safeguard Toney’s financial future seems logical given that he was in his late 20s when he reached the top of the game.

The striker has, however, maintained that his desire for fresh experiences drove him.

In December, he told FourFourTwo that he wanted something slightly different.

I can fit in anywhere because it’s a different culture. I’ve spent time in Brentford and Peterborough before leaving the United Kingdom.

Since he had not had the chance to see Toney play in Saudi Arabia, Tuchel was keen to emphasize that the call-up for England was more about him getting a close-up look at the player.

The former Chelsea manager has emphasized the value of a player’s personality, how they are training, and how they are treating themselves to victories, talking about Toney’s Asian Champions League success.

He does, however, give Tuchel a viable attacking option.

“Of course, I’ve been in the plans before, and I just need to stick with it, keep scoring goals, and keep playing well,” Toney said.

“I have a lot of great players and great strikers in the mix, but I have to concentrate on myself, and I hope to be able to join them now and win the World Cup.”

If Kane is injured, Toney would be the best choice. According to senior football correspondent Alex Howell from BBC Sport, “He is the most similar in terms of profile.”

Ollie Watkins’ playing changes the way England plays, according to Toney, “because wingers are looking for him, the number 10s want to connect with the striker, but Watkins is always looking the other way.”

Another factor Tuchel might have taken into account is how Saudi Arabia’s heat and humidity will help Toney become familiar with the conditions that are anticipated in North America by the time the 2026 World Cup is over.

According to McAuley, “Jeddah is boiling at the beginning and end of the season, and it has the humidity as well,” which will undoubtedly help him for the following year.