Ivan Toney destined for Saudi after late Al-Ahli bid for Victor Osimhen falls through

Brentford have accepted £40million deal for the striker, who was in the last year of his contract in west London

Ivan Toney is heading to Saudi Arabia after one of the most stunning deadline-day battles between two strikers, with his move minutes from falling apart as Al-Ahli negotiated a deal for Victor Osimhen.
‌Al-Ahli had been pushing ahead with talks to land Osimhen and were ready to progress with the deal as there was no agreement with Toney over a fee for the England striker. It was not until they were on the brink of a breakthrough with Osimhen that a £40million deal was struck for Toney.
‌As transfer deadline days go, it was as dramatic as it gets – the clubs shook hands on the deal in the nick of time to save Toney from being stuck at Brentford, where he has not been playing while his future was uncertain.
‌Had the deadlock between Brentford and Al-Ahli carried on longer into the morning, Al-Ahli would have ended up with Osimhen, who had interest from the Premier League but had been ready to play in Saudi with his career in Naples over.
‌With the agreement in place with Brentford, Toney underwent his medical in London and can complete the formalities of the deal in England rather than in the Middle East.
‌Al-Ahli have a fortnight before their next Saudi Pro League (SPL) match, against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, and there is plenty of time to fly out to Jeddah to meet his new team-mates that include former Premier League players Roberto Firmino and Edouard Mendy.
He will become just the second current England international to play in the ambitious SPL, with Jordan Henderson enduring a disastrous six months at Al-Ettifaq before returning to Europe, where he eventually lost his England place for the European Championship this summer.
‌It will be a risk for Toney playing in Saudi, 3,000 miles away from England and out of sight of interim manager Lee Carsley. Carsley left him out of his first squad this week, as Toney had not played any minutes for Brentford. Gareth Southgate was carefully monitoring the data in a league less intense than the Premier League.
‌With a year left on his contract at Brentford, Toney had little option but to look for a move. Al-Ahly were his only genuine option as the deadline approached. Chelsea had been interested – but only for a small fee and low wages, so a deal never got off the ground.
‌Manchester City chose to stick with their current squad rather than look for an Erling Haaland back-up, while Manchester United invested in Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee.
‌Toney will be among the biggest names in the Saudi league now. He was a star for England with his no-look penalty at the Euros and made a huge impact with his performance against Slovakia in the dramatic last-16 encounter when hopes of victory were slipping away.
‌“The never-say-die attitude kicked in and we got it over the line eventually,” he said after the thrilling extra-time win in Gelsenkirchen. His deal to Saudi was also slipping away, before being rescued at the death.