Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli have agreed deals to sign Victor Osimhen from Napoli for £67.3 million and Brentford’s Ivan Toney for £40 million, after both players have been linked with moves all summer.
It had looked as though Osimhen would be heading to the Premier League and a loan move to Chelsea, but early on Deadline Day it was revealed by Sky Sports that Al-Ahli had agreed a four year deal with the 25 year old which would see him earn around £33.6 million a season.
Toney’s future had also been the subject of much speculation all summer and the forward had not been part of Brentford’s squad for their first two Premier League games of the season. Manager Thomas Frank had already be confirmed he would not be featuring in their clash with Southampton tomorrow.
Why was Osimhen in demand?
After first arriving in Europe in 2017 with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, it was at Lille that Osimhen began to make a name for himself. He scored 18 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions in what proved to be his only season in France, winning the club’s player of the year award, earning him a club record move to Napoli.
His first two seasons in Naples saw him have two separate spells out with injury, he still managed to net 28 goals in 62 games, but 2022-23 proved to be a massive season for both club and player.
After scoring his first Champions League goal against Ajax, he went on to score 31 goals in 39 goals, including 26 in 32 in Serie A. Amongst those was the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Udinese which confirmed Napoli’s first Scudetto since 1990.
‘Late bloomer’ Toney ends rocky period
After making his senior breakthrough at Northampton Town in 2012, Toney first got a Premier League move in 2015 when he went to Newcastle United. However, he was unable to establish himself at St James’ Park and was sent out on a number of loan deals to four separate clubs in three seasons.
In 2018 he made a permanent move to League One Peterborough United, where he scored 49 goals in 94 games over two seasons before making the move to Brentford. He was a key part of the side that earned promotion to the Premier League, scoring in the play-off final against Swansea City.
Toney received his first England call-up in September 2022 for Nations League matches against Italy and Germany. However, a couple of months later he was charged with 232 breaches of gambling laws between 2017 and 2021. He was given an eight month ban after being diagnosed with a gambling addiction.
After the lifting of his ban, he was part of England’s squad for Euro 2024. He assisted Harry Kane’s winning goal in the Round of 16 against Slovakia, as well as scoring his penalty in the shoot-out against Switzerland in the Quarter-Finals.
One or the other, but unlikely both
While Al-Ahli have agreed deals for both Osimhen and Toney, it seems unlikely that both will arrive in Jeddah. Saudi Pro League clubs are limited to eight foreign players of any age, and another two under the age of 21. They currently have seven foreign players over 21 in their squad, including former Premier League stars Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino.
As a result, with Osimhen and Toney being 25 and 28 respectively, the only way they could sign both is if they can offload one of the current overseas players in their squad. The transfer deadline in Saudi Arabia is on Monday.