As a player that was part of England’s Euro 2024 squad and who produced a couple of moments of individual brilliance, Ivan Toney earned his place in Gareth Southgate’s side.
Though he’s found finding the net hard to come by for club and country in 2024, the striker arguably still has all of the tools to be considered a threat in front of goal, however, the lack of offers for his services this summer has been disappointing to say the least.
It was only at the back end of last year that Brentford were demanding £100m for him to be transferred (Sky Sports), and now it seems that the West Londoners are being forced to give him away for less than half the price.
There are no takers in the Premier League despite reported interest from Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, per Sky Sports.
Ivan Toney set for Saudi switch as move to clubs in England become a non-starter
That’s left Toney nowhere to go as there’s also no clubs on the continent that appear willing to offer the striker a new home.
Therefore, a move to Saudi Arabia, at just 28 years of age, appears to be what’s awaiting Toney, and that has got right up Stan Collymore’s nose.
“To be honest, it’s a dreadful move for him, but he’s clearly being advised to go to Saudi,” he told CaughtOffside for his exclusive column.
“What a shame. What an absolute waste.
“In my opinion, he should stay at Brentford, get his head down and score goals. If he scores a shed load, who’s to say that the big clubs he expected to move for him this summer still won’t come in for him?
“Let’s be realistic here. Ivan Toney has been very good for Brentford and Brentford have been very good for Ivan Toney, sticking by him throughout the gambling stuff.
“Did he think he could just coast it at the end of last season and he was going to get a massive move anyway, because there was just this queue of clubs?
“You could argue that the current situation is a lot of his own making. Just four goals from January to the end of the 2023/24 campaign tells its own story.”
Even if the player were to attempt a comeback in the English top-flight 12-24 months from now, there aren’t likely to be too many takers for a player that will be pushing 30 by then.
If the move spells the end of his career at the elite level at just 28, that really is, as Collymore notes, a great shame.