Al Ahli have reached an agreement with Brentford for the proposed signing of Ivan Toney.
Toney has agreed personal terms with the Saudi Pro League club, and he is set to undergo a medical ahead of a move abroad.
It is unclear if Toney’s move will have repercussions on Al Ahli’s move for Victor Osimhen, who they were also targeting.
The 28-year-old was not included in Brentford’s matchday squads for their opening Premier League fixtures against Crystal Palace and Liverpool, with The Athletic reporting interest from Al Ahli.
Toney has one year left on his current Brentford contract having not signed new terms with the club since agreeing a five-year deal when he joined from Peterborough United in 2020.
Transfer deadline day live on The Athletic…
The Athletic reported in the DealSheet that rather than allow him to leave on a free transfer in 11 months, Brentford would prefer to sell Toney this summer for what they regard as fair market value.
Toney has scored 72 goals in 141 appearances for Brentford. He returned from a eight-month ban for breaching the Football Association’s betting rules in January and finished the 2023-24 season with scored four goals in 17 Premier League appearances.
In July Brentford’s record signing Igor Thiago, a player the club view as a successor to Toney, was ruled out until “late 2024” due to a knee injury.
The Saudi Arabia ministry of sport announced in June 2023 that the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) would take control of four teams in the Saudi Pro League — Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr — and this lead to an influx in overseas talent during last summer’s window.
Al Ahli completed the signings of Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Merih Demiral and Edouard Mendy and finished third in the Saudi Pro League last season.
Toney would be just the second senior England international to make the move to Saudi, following Jordan Henderson. Henderson departed Al-Ettifaq for Ajax in January after just six months at the club.
(Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
