Ivan Toney is finally off the mark as an Al-Ahli player, putting in a stunning performance on Friday.
The England international was heavily linked with a number of top Premier League clubs over the summer but in the end, switched Brentford for the Saudi Pro League.
It’s been a slow start to life at his new club for Toney, who failed to score in his first two appearances. However, on Friday, things finally clicked into gear.
Within just 13 minutes of Al-Ahli’s home clash with Damac FC — played in front of over 25,000 supporters — Toney played a perfect pass to Spanish midfielder Gabriel Veiga, who made no mistake with his finish to make it 1-0.
Damac hit back just before half-time to make it 1-1. However, almost immediately after kick-off in the second half, Veiga turned provider, finding Toney in the box to prod home his first goal for his new club, putting the hosts back in the lead.
Al-Ahli were once again pegged back just after the hour mark before Roberto Firmino restored their lead in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time.
But even there, there was still time for Toney to double his tally for the night with another poacher’s effort in the 116th minute, which was eventually given after a VAR check for offside.
Toney opens Al-Ahli account after Spurs & Arsenal interest confirmed
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Toney’s double effort came on the same day that Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed he did ‘look at’ the 28-year-old, before eventually settling on Dominic Solanke.
“We did look at him but Dominic was the one we wanted that fit the profile we were looking for at the time,” Postecoglou said.
What’s more, it now appears that Toney held a secret meeting with Arsenal sporting director Edu during the Easter period earlier this year. However, the Gunners clearly felt he wasn’t the right option and have decided to stick with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus as their No.9 options for now.
Toney will surely feel much better about his decision to move to the Middle East after his match-winning performance on Friday.
Top photos by Julian Finney/Getty Images